City Beach rules updated, lifeguards eliminated

The city of Whitefish is imposing tighter regulations for City Beach and has created a beach ranger position for the city park to enforce those rules.

City Council Feb. 21 approved an ordinance that sets the list of 10 rules for City Beach and sets the parameters under which the beach ranger will enforce the city regulations.

City Beach hosts thousands of park goers each summer as a recreational and scenic highlight of the area.

Parks and Recreation Director Maria Butts said with the popularity of the park, the city is looking to provide a balance of an enjoyable experience while providing for the safety of each visitor.

“Although most patrons are amiable and cooperative, staff can encounter situations where their limited authority to fully enforce the rules at the beach presents them with a confrontational situation in which they do not have the necessary tools to be impactful in ensuring a clean, safe, recreational experience for all patrons,” Butts said.

In the past rules have been enforced by seasonal lifeguards, Butts noted, but a Whitefish Police Officer could only issue citations for violations of those rules.

The ranger will have the authority to issue civil violations and cite people for misdemeanors.

“We want the ranger to be able to issue a citation rather than calling on officer,” Butts said. “This will be more efficient and reduce the number of calls to officers.”

As a result of the change, the lifeguard positions at City Beach will be eliminated. Beach rangers will be certified in water rescue techniques, conduct boat inspections, monitor the boat launch and handle other duties.

In the past the duties were separated amongst different staff that included three lifeguards in the swimming area and two people monitoring the boat launch area. Under the change, there will be three beach rangers on-duty at City Beach at one time.

City Attorney Angela Jacobs, in response to a question about the city’s potential liability by eliminating lifeguards, said while the city has immunity from liability in the situation, lifeguards were increasingly being pulled away from their primary duty of watching the water.

Changes to the rules for City Beach were primarily a revision or clarification of the rules that were already in place.

However, during public comment Jamie Moore, who lives near City Beach, asked the city to tighten up the regulations even further. He asked the city to close the park at 10 p.m. rather than the 11 p.m. closure time now.

“We all know that 11 p.m. really means midnight,” he said. “The issues really begin late at night. I’m a working man and so are many of my neighbors — noise is the issue.”

Council did not adjust the park hours.

The new rules for City Beach include:

• No dogs allowed on beach or park area.

• No lifeguards on duty. Swim at your own risk. No diving off floating dock.

• All children 12 and under must be directly supervised by an adult.

• No fishing, swimming or sunbathing on boat launch dock.

• No skateboards, skating or biking on the sidewalks of the park.

• No smoking, alcohol or glass containers allowed.

• Comply with the no wake zone within 200 feet of the boat launch.

• No commercial vending within 200 feet of the beach, swimming area and docks.

• No fireworks.