The Kyle City Council authorized the Parks and Recreation Department to create an incentive program for pool staff members at a meeting July 5 to tackle the existing life guard shortage. The incentive program will cost $19,500 to create which will be taken from the existing allotted seasonal budget that has about $65,000 left over, according to the city.

To date, the lifeguard shortage has effectively saved the department money that can now be used for the new incentive program, Recreation Manager Aimee Garcia said.

The incentive program will include a $250 referral bonus for staffers who refer a lifeguard that completes the season; biweekly meals will be provided to staff as well as weekly snacks.

Additionally, since the previous city council meeting June 21 where the council directed city staff to create a plan to fully staff the James Adkins Pool, the team has hired and trained enough lifeguards to be open double the amount of time as before, Parks and Recreation Director Mariana Espinoza said.

The pool will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. starting July 12 for public swim.

At a June 7 meeting, Espinoza said that due to the lifeguard shortage, the pool was previously only going to be open Fridays and Saturdays from 1-5:30 p.m.