Beach, county officials exploring lifeguard pact

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL - Officials from Panama City Beach and Bay County are in preliminary discussions to jointly add more lifeguards to area beaches, although not in time for this year's Spring Break.

The county currently does not supply lifeguards to beaches in the unincorporated parts of Bay County; Panama City Beach does within its limits.

Commissioner Mike Thomas said the county wanted to allow beach vendors to set up shop along the county's portions of the beach. The vendors then would supply open-water lifeguards. The proposed bids, however, did not meet county expectations, he said.

"I had originally hoped that we could work this out using vendor fees," Thomas said. But that idea has been shelved for now, he said.

Thomas said Beach city officials are in the early stages of developing a plan in which the county would pay into a city-run lifeguard system that would include guards along both county and city stretches of sand.

Under such a system, the county money would come from ad valorum taxes, or property taxes, a method of funding Thomas opposes, he said.

Beach City Manager Richard Jackson said the discussions are only in the early stages. But he added the final version of the proposal could include a system of 10 to 12 lifeguards based at Rick Seltzer Park, the county's M.B. Miller Pier and the city's Russell-Fields Pier.

The percentages of city and county funding for such a system still are being worked out, Jackson said.

Panama City Beach already has three surf patrol officers who patrol the city's stretch of beach, and city officials last year approved funding for two lifeguards at the city pier area, near Pier Park.

Jackson said the two lifeguards near the city pier should be in place by April 1, too late for this year's Spring Break.

Eleven swimmers drowned along Bay County beaches last year, although no one drowned during Spring Break. Discussions were renewed among city officials about establishing a llifeguard system such as South Walton's. But those discussions fell flat over funding issues.

The city did, however, strengthen requirements for open-water lifeguards employed by vendors. The city also has certified a training program for open-water rescue at the Frank Brown Park aquatic center.