WARREN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (PIX11) – The weather is hot, but one pool in Somerset County is closed as they look for lifeguards.
“The job of lifeguarding has just lost its luster,” said Somerset County Park Commission Secretary-Director Geoff Soriano.
We’re into June, and the Warrenbrook Pool in Warren Township still is yet to open, mainly, due to the ongoing lack of lifeguards.
“We’ve been looking for lifeguards for the last three or four years,” said Soriano.
Of course, this is not just a Somerset County problem, it’s also a New York City problem, and on a national scale, too. But Warrenbrook has had other splashes with adversity; the county just made major repairs at the pool to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, another reason Soriano wants to open these gates.
“You don’t want to be the captain of a ship that doesn’t get to sail,” said Soriano.
The roughly 80,000-gallon pool home to around 400 members every summer needs at least eight lifeguards on duty to open.
“We just got to get the guards here, and then folks will come,” said Soriano.
The County says it will help applicants get certified by offering them free training through the American Red Cross. Lifeguards are also needed at several state parks and swim areas in New Jersey.
The State Park Service tells PIX11 News they continue to actively recruit, hire and train them, saying those who are hired will also receive free training.
Soriano hopes parents to talk to their kids who are 15 years or older and offer some encouragement to apply.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Soriano. “We have a sensational facility here at the Warrenbrook pool, right next to a golf club. It’s a sensational opportunity for a young kid, get a job, get paid -you’re not going to get rich, at all- but we hope to attract some good candidates and be able to retain them.”
