City of Jacksonville working to open 5 more of its pools by the middle of the month

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville is working to open up five more pools by the middle of the month, a representative said.

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This comes after Action News Jax reported staffing and maintenance kept half of the city’s pools, at least 17 total, closed during the summer season.

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The City said Emmett Reed Pool, Terry Parker High School, Baldwin Middle/High School, Robert Kennedy Pool, and San Souci Pool will open in mid-July.

It comes after Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan met with the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services last week to help avoid the problem next summer.

A representative for the Mayor’s Office said they plan to put an additional $500,000 into the pool’s budget next year for maintenance and to increase the pay for lifeguards for better recruitment.

According to the City’s website (COJ.net - JaxParks Aquatics), lifeguards start out making $14 an hour.

Last month, the Parks & Rec Department told Action News the City hired 246 lifeguards to work at the pools, but still had 114 openings.

In a statement, a representative for Mayor Deegan, said “Mayor Deegan and Parks and Recreation Director Daryl Joseph met last week to discuss short- and long-term solutions. In the short term, we are looking at non-profit partnerships to make use of more community pools that are open, as well as ways to provide transportation for community members to be brought to open pools.”

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The City is also planning a marketing campaign to recruit lifeguards “well in advance” of the 2024 summer.

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