Lifeguards Cannot Save Souls

[XLFD]

(This is a reprint, originally appearing in the general forum.  It explains the basic problem.)

Lifeguards saved two teens from drowning at Ludington’s Stearns Park Sunday and also helped a young girl who got in too deep Friday afternoon. 

 

Three lifeguards — Spencer Lindbloom, Cassie Sarto and Ryan Russell — were on duty at the time and Ludington Mayor John Henderson said "Sarto brought in one of the boys while Lindbloom brought both the other boy and a local man who was trying to help in to shore."

 

“This is why we have lifeguards at the beach, to provide life-rescuing service,” Henderson added. “I think it is one of the most important programs we have, with six blocks of Lake Michigan beach, it needs to be protected by lifeguards.”

 

The local man who attempted to help during the rescue is a first responder who was at the beach Sunday with his family when he saw the lifeguards sprint into the water with their rescue tubes. “The man had trouble and needed Lindbloom’s help to get back to shore”, Henderson said.

 

“He said those kids (lifeguards) are in great shape and he had trouble in the water,” Henderson said. “He said Spencer (Lindbloom) was strong enough to pull both (the man and the teen) back in.”  Henderson said “two lifeguards — Dylan Lindbloom and Blake Reimer — helped a girl after she got out in deep water at 4:35 p.m. Friday”.  (Ludington Daily News, 6-29-09)

 

We didn't always have these young heroes patrolling our shore.  Mayor Henderson made reinstating the lifeguards at Stearn Park a cornerstone of his campaign back in 2001, and he was able to get a lifeguard crew and equipment together the summer after his election.  He pointed to it as the main highlight of his first year (LDN, 12-30-02).

 

After barely surviving the city budget ax in 2003 (LDN, 11-25-03), the City Manager saved $27,000 by eliminating lifeguards in 2004.  His reason was that his liability insurance provider said it would be worse for the city financially if someone drowned in the presence of lifeguards than if the city did not provide that service, an argument often quoted (LDN, 12-7-04).  Mayor Henderson remained publicly quiet on the topic.

 

After a two year absence, and during better economic times, lifeguards came back in 2007 and remained until this year, despite continued opposition by Councilor Paul S. Peterson who claimed they were unnecessary, that there is something wrong when Ludington is the only community on the shore of Lake Michigan that has lifeguards, and that the money could be better spent elsewhere (LDN, 11-28-06 and 11-30-07). 

 

Four months into 2008, a woman publicly thanked the lifeguard Derek Karl for saving the lives of her son and other teens caught in a rip current at Stearn’s beach in 2007 during a city council meeting(no comment from Paul S. Peterson) (LDN, 4-15-08).  This catches us up to this last year’s heroics in June that saved the two boys and a girl that started this thread.

A little over two months later (8-31-09) the city council met in a special session to approve a new project costing $826,440 of public monies.  A new 1,000-foot dock along the north wall of the city marina giving boaters more of an opportunity to visit Ludington. Boaters wouldl be able to tie up to the dock during the day, walk downtown, then choose to get a slip for the night or head back out again.

 

“The goal is to bring more boaters downtown,” said Ludington Mayor John Henderson, who said he had the idea for the project after visiting Pentwater by boat for an evening.  He made a drawing on a napkin and that started the project in motion. That was three years ago (LDN, 9-1-09)

 

Three years ago coincided with when the City Marina started losing money due to fewer boats and less people boating (LDN 4-17-09).  Sounds like they already have more boat slips than what they need during these times.  This ‘improvement’ does not help Ludington citizens or our tourists except for allowing the affluent among them to park their boat along Loomis St. to maybe save less than a blocks worth of walk to the downtown area.  

 

Nearly three months later, the budget for 2010 called for cutting five full-time city positions, not hiring lifeguards and other seasonal employees, freezing salaries for two years and raising rates for several city fees.  This was passed two weeks later, with no public comment from Mayor Henderson either time about the lifeguards. 

 

He had no accolades for the heroic lifeguards who saved three children and one man just 5 months prior.  No quotes about how necessary and important these lifeguards were.  No appreciation for all the times the lifeguards had helped with a variety of summertime city projects, such as helping at Friday Night Lives or painting fire hydrants.  He just sat in his chair and listened as five full-time city employees and seven lifeguards were given their pink slips while perhaps thinking to himself what a fine legacy his transient docks would be.

 

Assuming the average cost of lifeguards over the last three years remained constant, the money involved with Mayor Henderson's brilliant idea to expand the city marina could have funded the lifeguard program in Ludington for 33 years ($826,000/$25,000).  Seven summer jobs for 33 years with who knows how many lives being saved or a few currently-unneeded transient boat slips?  Is this really the choice they made?

[AQUAMAN]

Yes, and it's a sad and disturbing choice that the city council members should ALL be ashamed of, and may seriously regret as the summer wears on. I guess Shay's higher prioritiy, along with Henderson, is that of a part-time city attorney job, one that is definitely overpaid and over-funded now. Btw, I saw the new fishing pier at the Loomis St. ramps now recently completed, that surely was a waste of $1/2 Million in itself if I ever saw one. Some rock and a sidewalk on top, whoopy dooo!

[XLFD]

That's $826,000 dollars of John Q. Public's money, Aquaman. Half from our cities reserves, half from the state DNR. Check out the large expanse of unused Municipal Marina slippage in the midst of tourist season (taken earlier today)

Speaking of which, I was out to Ludington State Park and they were complaining about not having any money available for repairing the Visitor's Center (whose roof collapsed during the winter) and refurbishing their historic beachhouse. I bet $413,000 from the state DNR could have more than covered that amount.

[AQUAMAN]

Quite right X, did you also see the turnout at Cartier Park this past weekend? I'm guessing it was about 1/3 full at best, with the beautiful weather there for the taking too. The city marina plans to collect $16/nite from the new transient docks being installed. I figured it out and if they were full 90 days it would take 55 years for the cost to break-even. That doesn't account for maintenance, repairs, insurance, and utilities that also should be factored in as a cost of doing business too. Including that would probably make break-even at over 100 years, far after any of us would be here to see it. Could any competent entrepreneur imagine investing in a project like this in the private sector with this long of a return on investment? Methinks NOT!

[AQUAMAN]

Got some new info. today about the ROLL effort many would like to see happen. Guess what? It's a downer and NOT going to happen this season. Seems some have sabotaged the whole program many months ago. There's alot of details in the rat's nest of this subject, maybe 2011, but for now, it's a gonner. I can give the entire details, it's quite lengthy and sad though.

[XLFD]

Spill your guts, Aq, you know I hate to operate out of ignorance (or admit to it, at least. LOL). As for sadness, I got facial tissues handy.