No safety patrollers at Station Beach, Kincardine, this summer

By: Liz Dadson  June 26, 2016  1779

Kincardine will not have safety patrollers at Station Beach this summer.

Although this was one of the recommendations in the safety audit, done by the Royal Lifesaving Society, recreation director Karen Kieffer told council in committee-of-the-whole June 15, that there is no timetable to have these things in place.

“We have implemented some of the recommendations,” she said, “but others need further consideration, such as the safety patrollers. We need to determine what their roles and responsibilities are – do they just patrol the beach, are they doing water rescue, what qualifications do they need?”

Kieffer said there are not a lot of patrolled beaches so the recreation department must do more research into this issue.

“The plan is to bring this back to council with a report, regarding what the safety patrollers should do and what they should cost,” she said. “Unfortunately, we can't do it for this summer. We need further discussion and debate on this.”

Other recommendations that have been put on hold are: establishing emergency procedures for the beach patrol and marina staff when dealing with the waterfront and beach emergencies; and updating current Blue Flag signage.

Meanwhile, however, the recreation department has implemented several recommendations in time for the July 1 weekend, said Kieffer, including the following items:

• Staff has installed one lifesaving station on the south pier and one should be in place on the north pier by July 1. The stations contain appropriate throwing aids and reaching poles. Signage has also been installed on these new stations, as well as the existing lifesaving stations, indicating the purpose of the equipment and warnings relating to misuse.
• A Station Beach inspection schedule has been established and written records of these inspections will be kept on file.
• The revised safety audit recommends that the no-swimming zone be designated 100 metres south of the south pier and 100 metres north of the north pier (the original document stated 250 metres). No swimming signs will be posted and the Kincardine Yacht Club will install buoys in the water, designating these areas.
• A swimming area has been in place since 2014 and marked out with buoys. More will be done to highlight this area on shore, with the installation of flags, so the public is aware. In addition, the yacht club has installed a camera in the lighthouse recording both the south and north piers. Councillor Maureen Couture questioned having video surveillance without signage indicating it is in place. Kieffer will look into that.

Kieffer said some recommendations are in progress, including: written policy and procedures for beach operations; new safety signage; enhanced exit points along the pier; and a public education campaign.

When asked about Inverhuron Beach, Kieffer said the recreation department has a good relationship with the Inverhuron and District Ratepayers' Association (IDRA). “We will ensure that lifesaving stations are there as well,” she said.

"Does the safety audit say anything about enforcement of this No Swimming area near the piers?” asked deputy mayor Jacqueline Faubert. “If people are swimming there, who do we call?”

“That's still a grey area,” said Kieffer. “There is no bylaw to enforce, so we're back to educating people. With safety patrollers in place, that would be their role.”

“We can't stop anybody from swimming in the lake,” said councillor Randy Roppel. “We can put up signs and do all sorts of due diligence, but we can't stop people from swimming there. If we had that ability, we could restrict the area.”

“It's likely going to take a generation before people understand that they shouldn't swim in that area,” said councillor Andrew White.

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Liz Dadson

Liz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.

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