The City Council has adopted a resolution that urges the administration to extend the hours lifeguards are on duty.
The city’s lifeguards are generally on duty from
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but many people head to Oahu’s
29 beaches with lifeguard towers when the lifeguards are not there. This situation needs to change, say several lifeguards, residents, surfers and city officials.
The goal, many proponents say, is to help save more lives and educate more people about high surf and rough conditions.
Dozens of proponents of Resolution 16-43, including state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D, Kalaeloa- Waianae-Makaha) and retired Ocean Safety Division Administrator Ralph Goto, submitted written testimony in support of the measure, which was adopted by the Council on Wednesday.
Introduced by Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, who represents the Leeward Coast, the resolution also requests that the city seek necessary funding for extended coverage and to negotiate with the Hawaii Government Employees Association during the collective bargaining process.
“It was very clear that we touched on a nerve and a situation that needs to be resolved,” Pine said Wednesday. “When we call 911, they don’t say, ‘Don’t call us after hours.’ In the water people don’t just drown or get into trouble after 9 and before the sun goes down. We love our beaches. We want to just keep everyone safe.”
Mark Rigg, Honolulu Emergency Services Department director, said in a statement after the resolution was adopted, “Ocean Safety is in the process of developing a strategic plan that addresses extending shifts for lifeguards. This plan will address staffing and supervisory requirements, equipment and supply needs and an agreement with the union to proceed.”
The city employs about 140 lifeguards who cover about 200 miles of coastline. Supervisors have the authority to extend hours during high surf and other rough conditions.
According to the state Department of Health, drowning is the fifth leading cause of death statewide. From 2010 to 2014 drowning accounted for nearly half of visitor deaths and about
5 percent of resident deaths statewide. On Oahu 273 people drowned between 2005 and 2014.
Brian Keaulana, a retired city lifeguard captain, told Council members that off-duty lifeguards and others play a major role in saving lives after hours.
“They’re (lifeguards) passionate people. They are really not working for the money,” Keaulana said. “It’s more for the life of the people.”
At a Council budget briefing earlier this month, Rigg said it would take time to implement coverage from dawn to dusk for all lifeguards. He added it could be done in phases and by potentially switching to 10- and 12-hour shifts.
“The lifeguards have been working late every day. They don’t want to go home because they know the beaches aren’t safe,” Rigg told Council members. “We are aware of the need. There’s administrative costs associated to this, obviously. We are authorizing and approving staffing on high-surf days. We’re taking the time to identify the need and address it appropriately.”
The proposed budget for Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division is
$12.7 million for fiscal year 2017, a 25 percent increase from this year’s budget of $10.1 million. Lifeguards are expected to receive a
16 percent salary increase beginning July 1. The Legislature passed a bill in 2013 to create a separate collective bargaining unit for state law enforcement and county water and safety officers.
Department Deputy Director Ian Santee had told Council members this month that at least 40 to 50 more lifeguards would need to be hired to cover shifts from dawn to dusk, which would cost about $3.5 million in salaries.
Goto, of the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association, wrote in his March 1 testimony that staggered work hours could minimize costs. He added that extended hours would decrease drownings and other incidents at Oahu’s beaches.
Bryan Phillips, a North Shore lifeguard, told Council members Wednesday that lifeguard rescues show “how much impact (the resolution is) going to create in our communities for the tourists and visitors.”
