City must reverse suspension of lifeguard program

City Hall’s suspension of the City Beach lifeguard program should be reversed. See the May 14 N.Y. Times for: "The Increase in Drowning Deaths Should Be a National Priority."

My childhood in a family of Sandpoint funeral home owners may give me unusual awareness, but any longtime resident can tell a drowning story about local tragic loss. Public safety is a social contract between the city and its residents and a rationale for paying taxes. Mayor Jeremy Grimm stated that a low ratio of lifeguards to swimmers could create vulnerability for lawsuits. Do “swim at your own risk” and removal of lifeguard stands mean a city that profits from lake recreation is free of legal responsibility? What about moral responsibility?

Adequately funding lifeguards at City Beach is not an optional recreation function. It is a public safety function, no less than police, fire, and EMT programs. Funding and staffing such a program should not be a back-burner, low-wage teenager program but rather a fully realized and ongoing program that happens to be seasonal. 

If Sandpoint City Hall desires to continue the longstanding City Beach summer lifeguard program but is incapable of doing so, it is a signal to local residents who will believe that the city prioritizes amenities at the expense of necessities. It is a bad look for City Hall to tell us that we cannot support a lifeguard program or that no staffer could successfully mount one, meanwhile touting fancy new racquet, bicycle, and playground facilities.

CHRISTINE MOON

Sandpoint