St. Boniface residents left high and dry due to staff shortage at pool

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This article was published 17/08/2017 (3347 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The chairman of city council’s parks committee says staff might have to standardize new rules for pool use after St. Boniface residents had to wait in the sun over the weekend when the outdoor Happyland pool was short-staffed.

Coun. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) said unexpected staffing shortages are to be expected, so pool supervisors should follow the system adopted at the city’s Freight House pool on Isabel Street.

Pagtakhan said the neighbourhood demand at the Freight House regularly outpaces the pool capacity and the available number of lifeguards. The solution in those situations is that people take turns using the pool.

“They let people in for a bit, 35 minutes, then they clear the pool with those people getting back in line and the next group goes in,” Pagtakhan said. “That’s what they have to do sometimes when it gets pretty overwhelming. People are pretty understanding. It works at Freight House.”

St. Boniface residents were upset on the weekend when long lineups developed at the pool, located at Happyland Park, at the southwest corner of Marion Street and Rue Archibald.

The regular capacity of the pool is 75 users, but a handmade sign was posted over the weekend that restricted capacity to 30 people, attributing the change to an unexplained staff shortage.

While the park is undergoing upgrades and renovations, many residents remain disappointed with the pool. There will be no improvements to the change rooms or an extension of operating hours — the pool is only open from 1-6 p.m.

City hall declined to provide an official from the community services department to explain what happened at Happyland, explaining initially only that, in general, pool capacity is adjusted “to accommodate unforeseen fluctuations in our staffing availability.”

Later in the week, a civic spokeswoman said Happyland pool normally is staffed with three lifeguards, but one had been reassigned, leaving the pool capacity at 30 users. No explanation was given for the reassignment.

Pagtakhan said when he looked into the situation, he learned there were staff shortages at the outdoor pool in Transcona, and the decision was made to re-assign one lifeguard from Happyland.

Pagtakhan said he recommended to the city’s pool officials that they consider the ad-hoc solution used at the Freight House when similar situations occur at Happyland or other pools.

“They said they would consider it,” Pagtakhan said, adding the issue is likely to be addressed at a meeting of the parks committee.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca