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Serving the communities of Anthem, Desert Hills, Norterra, Sonoran Foothills, Stetson Valley, Tramonto, New River, Desert Ridge and North Phoenix
Anthem Area Edition
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Wednesday, May 11, 2022
City opening only 14 pools this summer BY PAUL MARYNIAK Foothills Focus Staff Writer
T
he nationwide labor shortage will impact summer fun for untold thousands of Phoenix children and adults this summer after the city announced it can open only half of its pools beginning Memorial Day weekend. But North Phoenix residents need not fear. Cortez Pool at 3434 W. Dunlap Ave – which city Parks and Recreation Department officials say is the closet one to North Phoenix – is one of the 14 pools that will open for summer 2022 until then. And it is one of the eight pools that will be open on weekend afternoons through Labor Day. Cortez and the other 13 pools will be open throughout Memorial Day week-
end and then be open daily except Fridays from June 4. Admission will be $1 for ages 17 and under and 60 and over, and $3 for all other adults. Pecos is not one of the pools where kids 17 and under can swim for free through the city’s “Kool Kids” program. In addition, free swimming lessons for kids ages 6 months to 12 years will be available on a limited basis June 20-30, July 5-14 and July 18-28. Registration is slated to begin May 14, at.phoenix.gov/ parks/pools/programs/ While a couple of the city’s 29 pools had no chance of opening because they have badly deteriorated, most of the 15 that won’t be open have fallen victim to the labor shortage that has businesses and government agencies at virtually every level desperate to fill vacancies.
The city for months has been trying to fill more than 600 lifeguard positions by providing $2,500 in incentive pay for the season – $500 in lifeguards’ first check and $2,000 at the end of the season. City officials said the bonus – available to all lifeguards and other pool personnel like managers and instructors – brought the average hourly wage up from $14 to $21 an hour. In addition, the city gave $100 to anyone on the city payroll for referring someone for a who then was hired as a lifeguard. But Deputy City Manager Inger Erickson last month told a City Council committee in a memo, “Despite these efforts, recruitment continues to be a challenge, as it is nationally; and the department
to transition but the time feels right for me now to step aside. Just like when I felt called to do this job, I also feel called right now to go in a new direction, allowing me the rare opportunity to prioritize family and explore future endeavors.” A Phoenix native, she has spent 33 years in law enforcement and is a few months away from completing her sixth year as chief. Her career with the Phoenix Police De-
partment began in 1989. Through the years, Williams worked through the ranks and eventually moved to Oxnard, California, in 2011 to serve as police chief. In 2016, she returned to the Phoenix Police Department to be police chief. In her public statement on retiring, Williams said she is “tremendously proud” of
see POOLS page 9
Phoenix police chief to retire after 33 years
BY ALLISON BROWN Foothills Focus Staff Writer
P
hoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams intends to retire this summer, she revealed May 3. “After much prayer and consideration and in consultation with my family and city leadership, I have decided to make a change,” Williams said. “There is never a perfect time
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