City may increase wages for lifeguards

The City is looking for 10 lifeguards and a couple of managers “with character and a sense of responsibility” to work at the City pool from June through August, said Interim City Administrator Arpegea Pagsuberon.

The pool is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

The City must ensure it has enough staff to run the facility before cleaning and refurbishing the pool and setting an opening date, she said. The managers who ran the pool last year are not returning, and only one of last year’s lifeguards expressed interest in returning, she said.

The City has posted flyers advertising the jobs around town and on Facebook but has not had a good response, she said.

“We’ve had complaints about the wage and that it wasn’t the best job,” she said. “We’ve come to the realization that why would they want to sit out in the hot sun when they can make more money in an air-conditioned store?”

Pagsuberon will ask the City Council at Monday’s meeting to raise the $7.25 per hour wage for lifeguards and the $9.50 per hour wage for managers to compete with local businesses.

Lifeguards must be at least 16 years old, pass a swimming test and attend City-provided courses in CPR and lifesaving at the YMCA in Wichita Falls. Managers must be at least 18 years old and will oversee employee scheduling and operate the concession stand.

Anyone interested in applying for the lifeguard or manager job should contact Arpegea Pagsuberon at 940-276-2011.