Changing of the guards

Andrew Edwards

Laguna’s lifeguards have long hoped for a new headquarters, and an

idea to make that happen may soon wash ashore.

The city’s lifeguards are now headquartered at the north end of

Main Beach, and a proposal under consideration would keep the Marine

Safety Department in the same area, but would switch the lifeguard’s

building with the nearby restrooms.

A study exploring that idea should be finished by September, Asst.

City Manager John Pietig said. The study will cost about $20,000, and

the cost of any new construction will not be known until the end of

the study.

The lifeguards’ desires for an upgraded headquarters date back to

at least July 2001 when Marine Safety Chief Mark Klosterman wrote a

memo to City Manager Ken Frank listing concerns with the building,

such as blocked views and structural deterioration.

A look around the lifeguards’ headquarters shows the building’s

decline. From the sidewalk on South Coast Highway, one can see

patches of rotting wood next to plants growing out of the structure.

The roof, which was intended to serve as a lookout deck, has been

closed to the public for two years for safety reasons.

Also, the headquarters is built over a sewer pump station, and a

sewer vent is built into the building. Lifeguards have placed air

purifiers inside the building to take care of the smell.

Despite these problems, Pietig said the building does not pose any

dangers to lifeguards in the near future, though the building does

not have long to go.

“The building is structurally safe right now, but it is clear that

in the next decade we will need to replace it,” Pietig said.

To lifeguards, the move makes sense. Now, the lifeguards’

dispatcher sits at a window overlooking the beach, but the view is

obstructed by trees to the immediate south and the bathrooms to the

north. Switching the buildings would give lifeguards a better vantage

point to see any troubles on the beach or in the surf.

“For the purposes of lifeguarding there’s really no comparison,”

said Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn. member Ormand Tegland.

The study will also compare options to upgrade or move a South

Laguna fire station near Virginia Way.

“The fire station right now is not able to house modern engines,”

Pietig said.

Whether lifeguards end up working out of a new facility is just

one issue facing the department and lifeguards’ association. One

problem that was resolved on Tuesday was how lifeguards would be able

to drive on the city’s beaches. Chevy had provided four trucks free

of charge as part of a promotional campaign, but announced the trucks

would need to be purchased or returned by next Monday.

On Tuesday, City Council voted to pay for three of the trucks, and

as a result, lifeguards will have five trucks, which will be enough,

Klosterman said.

“It’s going to meet our needs,” he said.

An issue that has yet to be resolved revolves around staffing.

Lifeguard association members want the city to upgrade seasonal

positions in which employees work more than 1,040 hours.

Though the city does not recognize the lifeguards association as a

bargaining unit, Frank said he plans to hold a closed-door meeting

with lifeguards association members to discuss their concerns in the

coming week.