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On the water -- World class all the way

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June Casagrande

Inside is a world-class lifeguard team that has garnered national

media attention. But you’d never know it from the outside.

Paint is peeling, wood is rotting, windows are warping -- and the city

is blushing.

The lifeguard station at the Newport Pier is headquarters for up to

200 highly skilled lifeguards in the busy summer months. But the

building’s exterior, said Mayor Gary Adams, hardly does them justice.

That’s why the city is planning a $500,000 make-over for the building

that includes aesthetic, as well as functional, upgrades.

“It’s a prominent building in a very high-profile area,” Adams said.

“We need to keep it up.”

Working with the lifeguards, the city is nailing down its vision for

the renovated facility.

“Just painting it is going to make a huge difference,” said Deputy

Fire Chief Tom Arnold.

The city’s fire department runs the lifeguard operations.

“It’s going to look completely different when it’s done,” he added.

Also in the works are plans to replace some of the rotting and warping

fixtures. Wood window frames will likely be replaced with plastic ones

better suited to the harsh marine environment. Roof repairs are also in

the works.

But plans for inside are even more exciting to lifeguards. As the

nerve center for guarding six miles of city beaches, it should be home to

a state-of-the-art dispatch center that can support life-saving services.

Private companies’ Web cams located in different spots on the beach

streaming surf images to the Internet may be monitored from inside the

dispatch center. According to Arnold, such an arrangement with the

companies would allow lifeguards to determine what areas of the beach

need the most attention at any one time.

“If a busload of kids shows up at Balboa parking lot, we’ll be able to

send a patrol unit there to better look after them,” Arnold said.

Tapping into the new countywide 800-megahertz radio communications

system, the lifeguards will have direct radio communications with police,

fire, public works and other agencies. Until now, they’ve had to go

through dispatchers or use telephones to talk to many other agencies.

Public Works Director Steve Badum said the renovations, if approved by

the City Council, will be funded with about $500,000 from the American

Trader Oil spill settlement -- moneys set aside for maintaining the

marine environment.

“We’re going to be very proud in the spring to have this done,” Arnold

said.

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