The chances to go jump in a pool could be fewer for Whitehorse if council doesn’t approve a $20,000 increase to the lifeguarding budget at the Whitehorse Lions Aquatic Centre.

Krista Mroz, the city’s manager of recreation and facility services, brought forward the recommendation for the increase to council Monday evening.

A request had been made when the city adopted its 2015 spending plan that would allow the city to meet new national standards for life-guarding. It was turned down.

A total of $760,000 was identified in the budget to accommodate the 30 to 35 lifeguards required at the pool who work full-time, part-time and casual positions covering 110 hours of operation per week at the pool. That includes guarding, teaching lessons and any training required.

Staff have since worked to meet the standards by making efficiencies elsewhere (including cutting down on aquatic classes like Aquafit).

The shortfall now stands to cut into the pool’s operating schedule and/or more programming in order to meet the standards.

“The city has always operated in accordance with national standards since there is no other governing legislation, regarding lifeguarding and instructor ratios,” Mroz noted in her report to council.

“Not doing so would put the city at risk for any accidents or injuries. The budget request identified that service level adjustments would need to be made if the request was not approved.”

As part of the second quarter review, it was found the city would need to spend another $20,000 if the current pool schedule were to remain in place while still meeting national life-guarding standards.

As Mroz explained: “In order to maintain the same public swimming access for fall 2015 as the previous year, an additional 50 hours/week for instructor/lifeguards are required.

“There are 10 hours/week required for early-morning swimming between 5:30 (and) 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and 40 hours/week are required for guarding lane swimming, sauna, steam room and swirl pool during joint use times Tuesday to Friday.

“This equates to $25,500, which can be reduced to $20,000 through operational adjustments during pool shutdown and Christmas break.”

Without the increase, the leisure pool would be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays, when an average of 18 people use the pool at that time of day.

Meanwhile, lane swimming and sauna, steam room and swirl pool services would have to be closed during the joint use times from 8:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Tuesday to Friday, when an average of 85 people use the facility.

“This would result in a loss of revenue for memberships and admissions,” Mroz noted.

The early-morning hours serve one of the most consistent groups of members, she pointed out, noting the users at that time are generally looking for a time when the pool is not busy.

In evaluating what would be proposed to be cut, Mroz said the city tried to propose “the greatest good for the greatest numbers” looking at when the fewest people use the pool.

“These times were reduced over the summer and there was considerable feedback indicating that these swim times were highly valued,” the report notes.

Addressing questions from council, Mroz said the Lifesaving Society, which is responsible for the national standards, has been raising standards over the last few years.

A visit to the Whitehorse facility found the standards for lifeguarding are not being met.

“We have a difficult pool to guard,” Mroz said.

The aquatic centre has numerous features (from the waterslide to the swirl pool to the hot tub along with the leisure and lane pools) that make lifeguarding more complicated than it would be at a basic rectangular-shaped single pool.

The popularity of swimming programs was evident when registration for fall programs began last Saturday morning, Mroz said.

Under questioning by council, she said a total of 600 kids are registered for swimming lessons in the city for the fall, with another 100 on wait lists.

There’s capacity for 800 youngsters to take lessons, but some programs and schedules are proving more popular than others.

Mroz said there will likely be a bit of “shuffling” around to deal with the popularity of some programs before lessons get underway.

“We’re a community surrounded by water,” Mroz said.

“We have a lot of interested people who want to learn how to swim to access the lakes. They boat, they canoe, they kayak.

“We see it as a benefit for the community, because it provides a safe way for people to be around water.”

Mayor Dan Curtis voiced his support last night, noting the importance of safety for both swimmers and city staff at the pool.

Overall, Mroz said the entire Canada Games Centre is much busier this year over past years, with approximately 100 more memberships being sold each month over last year.

That’s also meant a much busier parking lot. She hopes more patrons will begin using active transportation or taking buses to the recreational facility to avoid having to search for a parking spot.

Council will vote next week on whether to approve the funding.

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu was absent from Monday’s meeting, the first one after council’s annual summer break.