When a group of Chilliwack residents lobbied city council to raise lifeguard wages a few months ago, council considered it, and then made it happen.
Lifeguard and swim instructor wages in Chilliwack were raised in May from just under $16 an hour, up to $22 an hour, or $20 for junior lifeguards, in order to attract qualified staff for Chilliwack pools.
City officials blamed the ongoing shortage of staff and staff retention problems on the pandemic, as other municipalities were also facing similar staff shortages.
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But now some of those same residents are urging council to bring the entire management of the city pool operations in-house – rather than contracting out.
The City of Chilliwack had put out a request for qualifications for management and operations of the Cheam Leisure Centre, Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre and the Rotary Pool, and received two bids from Canadian Recreation Excellence (Chilliwack) Corporation for $13,163,288, and from the YMCA of Greater Vancouver, for $10,027,777 by the June 15 closing, according to the Aug. 8 staff report.
City officials even went so far as to hire an independent consultant to estimate the in-house costs for the city to manage its own leisure centres and pools, and the figure they came up with was $13.5 million.
Since wages were an issue, “each proponent included competitive wages in their proposals,” said the staff report.
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But that was not good enough for a number of parents and citizens, including Melissa Kendzierski, a mother of three, who is calling for the city to undertake its own pool management. She now works in programming for the recreation industry in a neighbouring community, but was a lifeguard/instructor for more than 10 years.
Kendzierski stressed that she loves the YMCA, having worked there for years before seeking better wages with a municipality to the west of Chilliwack. But the Y’s drop-in rates are already “outrageous” and their model is based on membership purchase, so she’s concerned they’ll be spread out too thinly if they are awarded the contract.
“I do think in-house services would be a great complement to what the Y already provides,” Kendzierski stated.
She was among many residents this week who fired off a letter urging council to consider the in-house option, even if it meant slightly higher taxes calling it “the cost of doing quality business.”
Having a municipal-run pool offers “better control” by operators, and better ability to pivot when needed.
“We recognize that there will be a higher cost to the public, but consider this an investment in our community, a value add for your human resources department and future city staffing and protection of our community assets,” she recommended to council.
That way the city can ensure that residents have access to the services they’re paying for like the much sought-after swimming lessons.
“Since COVID it feels like paying for services we can’t access.”
Council is set to vote on the matter the afternoon session on Tuesday (Aug. 16) on the staff recommendation to accept the YMCA bid.
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