LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Looking for a summer job? Or at least way to cool off and give your AC a break?
You're in luck. Lexington pools open this weekend. The gates are opening for the first time since 2019 after being closed last year due to the pandemic. Each pool will have reduced capacity and hours to start the summer. That means less people allowed inside.
"Until the Healthy at Work guidelines are changed, we will have capacity limits set by the governor at each of our pools," said Michael Johnson, Deputy Director for Lexington Parks & Recreation
The reason for fewer hours is the shortage of lifeguards.
"Part of the problem is there were no recertification classes locally because of the pandemic. And we hire mainly college and high school kids to be our lifeguards. And they, like the rest of us, have been going through a non-traditional year," said Johnson.
Johnson says they normally try to hire 120 each summer. Right now, they have barely half of that number.
As the school year ends, he's optimistic that will change.
"We're already seeing that to some degree. A lot of word-of-mouth as kids are getting ready to start, suddenly interested so we're hoping it'll be a short-run problem," said Johnson.
If you're interested in applying for a lifeguard position, check with the Lexington Parks and Recreation website. Here's a link to the pool hours for each location.
