A lot of families in Guilford County were left high and dry on Memorial Day weekend after pools at Guilford County parks didn’t open in time for what’s usually the first day of the year of swimming at those pools.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners met on Thursday, June 2, and county staff had some explaining to do for the county commissioners who had gotten some complaints and questions about the very popular county service.
At the meeting, county staff reiterated what a pre-Memorial Day county press release had stated: That the county was up against a lifeguard and pool staff shortage – just as many businesses right now are seeing staff shortages.
The commissioners also wanted to know when the pools would be open and, a day after the commissioners’ meeting, county staff sent out a second press release that provided more details.
“Guilford County Parks will open its three public pools beginning Saturday, June 11, 2022,” it stated, but it added, “for weekend use only.”
The release announced that the county will be using a phased-in opening method.
It added that this is “an enjoyable summertime resource experience that is focused on safety first.”
The county’s pools include Bur-Mil Park at 5834 BurMill Club Road, Northeast Park, 3441 Northeast Park Dr. and Hagan-Stone Park at 5920 Hagan-Stone Park Road.
According to the county’s new release, pool hours will be Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. – with weekday hours expected to begin Monday, June 20.
The daily entrance fee for the pools is $5 per person, while children under 2 years of age are free.
Memberships will not be sold this year.
Also, “Pools will open to prearranged groups at a limited capacity for staff and lifeguard training to enhance their skills and receive additional service training hours.
These training sessions are not open to the public.”
Guilford County Parks Director Dwight Godwin said this week that he and his staff have “worked incredibly hard “to hire, train, and certify lifeguards for county pools – but he added that they need “on-the-stand training” to handle the large crowds that are expected this summer,”
“We will continue to monitor this situation closely and scale up our operations as soon as we feel we can safely do so,” he said.
Goodwin also said, “We want to thank the public for working with us and being patient… We look forward to welcoming everyone back to the pools.”
So, of course, the Guilford County Parks Department is still accepting applications for lifeguard and pool staff at guilfordcountync.gov.
The salary for lifeguards starts at $15 an hour. The pay for pool supervisors starts at $18.50 an hour.
If you need more information on Guilford County Parks pools, you can call 336-641-7275 or visit www.guilfordparks.com.
