CLEVELAND — The dog days of summer are nearing; that means longer days, warmer temperatures and a lot more fun.
People brave enough to bear the summer heat will find enjoyment at pools like Neff Park's.
But there are some changes people should expect this summer.
“A lot of times, I could be having fun with my friends, and they’re going to stop the pool because they don’t have enough lifeguards, and I really don’t like that,” said Neff Park visitor Jayden Willis.
To cool off during the hot summer days, Willis and his group of friends tell News 5 they enjoy going for a swim at Neff Park.
“We all go over here together. It’s fun,” said Neff Park visitor Robert Cruz.
Cruz tells me if he could, he would sign up to be a lifeguard, just so he and his friends like Kayleon Cleveland can continue having a good time without any interruptions.
“It’s finally hot in Cleveland. I feel like there should be more lifeguards, and the pools should be open way longer this summer. I don’t get it,” Cleveland said.
Like some other communities across Northeast Ohio, the City of Cleveland has been forced to restrict hours at its pools this summer due to a decrease in applicants for seasonal lifeguarding positions.
“You want to make sure that during that time when it's great swimming weather that our pools are open and that people can be active and having fun, so it's sad to see, you know, limited hours and pools closed,” said Michael Goldberg, an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University’s Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School.
Goldberg told News 5 pools are facing plenty of problems like challenges in getting people trained, an overall worker shortage and the lack of international talent from different visitor exchange programs.
“This pool of talent that is normally available to a lifeguard just isn't showing up this year. And that's why we're seeing limited hours at local pools like in Cleveland,” Goldberg said.
He doesn’t know if the problem can be solved this summer. However, for the future, he said he believes recruiting early is one way to help.
“Some folks have talked about thinking about hiring lifeguards differently, even on sort of a full-year basis, so that you're not scrambling to bring in summer talent,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said he is hopeful some solution can arise; this way, kids like Cleveland and his friends can frolic in a pool on a summer day.
“The pools are a critical part of the summer, so with that being missing and not being able to do those things, it’s tough,” Cleveland said.
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