“Do we want to make it safer for tourists and residents when they go on the beach that’s the question.”
And for Joe Reeser, Wendi Onuki and the rest of the South Haven city council, the answer is yes.
“If we want to see this happen in the next beach season it needs to start now.”
South Haven eliminated lifeguards in 2001. A campaign to bring them back accelerated in 2022 when 4 people drowned in less than a month. City staff will develop a plan to hire, train, and pay for the lifeguards.
“We can’t make a decision on all of those details right now, but we can make a decision whether we want lifeguards.”
New police chief Adam DeBoer, just promoted from acting chief, is a certified open water lifeguard and consultant Scott Haberle says that should help.
“You have a gift in your police chief because he has some experience. Not everyone is going to have someone like that.”
St. Joseph, New Buffalo and Escanaba are the only Michigan beach towns with lifeguards. Out of over 135 Lake Michigan drownings in the last 15 years, only one of them, New Buffalo in 2013, was on a beach with lifeguards;
“There is a much greater chance of drowning if there are no lifeguards.”
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