Politics & Government
Oakdale City Council Votes to Stop Funding Lifeguards at Tanners Lake Beach
Oakdale Parks and Recreation Director Bruce Anderson said he hopes people will still use the beach.
Lifeguards won’t be overseeing this summer, as in seasons past, but Parks and Recreation Director Bruce Anderson said he doesn’t think that will necessarily be a bad thing.
“I think that there are, to be honest with you, benefits to not having a supervised beach,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if they outweigh having a supervised beach, but to me it’s not completely negative.”
Since the beach and restrooms will remain open, Anderson said, his hope is that the same number of people will continue to use the beach. He said he also hopes parents will be more apt to monitor their kids at the beach since there won't be lifeguards present.
Find out what's happening in Oakdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Oakdale City Council voted unanimously to redirect the $21,000 to $23,000 the city spends annually on lifeguards to other parks programs at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Council member Lori Pulkrabek said she was swayed, in part, by the results of an informal survey that showed the majority of beach users were from Landfall and the surrounding cities, rather than Oakdale.
Find out what's happening in Oakdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“While it’s not scientific, I think (the poll) most likely is accurate, and so this loss isn’t for our residents,” she said. “It’s a loss to residents in other cities who aren’t paying the taxes to cover this, so I think this makes sense to try this.”
Council member Kent Dotas said it is “critical” the beach remain clean and well maintained.
Anderson said the parks department might allocate a portion of its savings to the public works department for beach maintenance and cleanup costs.
The rest of the money could go toward expanding the city’s summer concert series beyond the two concerts currently planned, increasing special events, increasing marketing efforts and expanding young adult programs, according to a staff report by Anderson.
The city will no longer operate a concession stand at the beach, Anderson said. They will remove the lifeguard stands from the beach, he said, and install "swim at your own risk" signs as well as an emergency phone.