From Walton Sun
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners directed the Tourist Development Council to formulate a plan to post lifeguards at six regional beach accesses.
?(We will) advertise and have people respond and we will take the respondents back to the county so the county can make a decision on who would be best for us to contract with and we would take it from there,? Kriss Titus, TDC executive director said.
At the BCC meeting on Sept. 27 County Attorney David Hallman said the county has to show factual evidence that more people will come to the beaches if lifeguards were patrolling them in order to have TDC funds used.
In 2003, the beach safety and education committee was formed to look at ways to improve education and safety on area beaches. The issue of lifeguards has come up over and over and over and this is the recommendation the committee came up with in their last meeting, County Administrator Ronnie Bell said.
There is a tight timeline for getting lifeguards on the beaches next year.
?You have to develop a program. There is equipment to order, there are towers to be built and people to be hired and trained,? Sean Hughes, South Walton Fire District deputy chief, said.
He added that a decision needs to be made by December at the latest because you can?t put people out in the Gulf to train in January and February.
Titus said there will be lifeguards on South Walton beaches next year. She added that the TDC will develop its plan in the next two to four weeks at which time it will present it to the BCC. Inlet Beach, Miramar Beach, Gulfview Heights, Dune Allen Beach, Ed Walline Park and Santa Clara Beach are the six regional beaches the TDC is looking at placing lifeguards.
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners directed the Tourist Development Council to formulate a plan to post lifeguards at six regional beach accesses.
?(We will) advertise and have people respond and we will take the respondents back to the county so the county can make a decision on who would be best for us to contract with and we would take it from there,? Kriss Titus, TDC executive director said.
At the BCC meeting on Sept. 27 County Attorney David Hallman said the county has to show factual evidence that more people will come to the beaches if lifeguards were patrolling them in order to have TDC funds used.
In 2003, the beach safety and education committee was formed to look at ways to improve education and safety on area beaches. The issue of lifeguards has come up over and over and over and this is the recommendation the committee came up with in their last meeting, County Administrator Ronnie Bell said.
There is a tight timeline for getting lifeguards on the beaches next year.
?You have to develop a program. There is equipment to order, there are towers to be built and people to be hired and trained,? Sean Hughes, South Walton Fire District deputy chief, said.
He added that a decision needs to be made by December at the latest because you can?t put people out in the Gulf to train in January and February.
Titus said there will be lifeguards on South Walton beaches next year. She added that the TDC will develop its plan in the next two to four weeks at which time it will present it to the BCC. Inlet Beach, Miramar Beach, Gulfview Heights, Dune Allen Beach, Ed Walline Park and Santa Clara Beach are the six regional beaches the TDC is looking at placing lifeguards.