Construction Underway for New Junior Lifeguard HQ

Long Beach city officials have recently celebrated the announcement for the construction of a new Long Beach junior Lifeguard Headquarters (HQ).

According to a construction notice released by the city of Long Beach, “Construction activities include construction of a new foundation, installation of the modular building structure and new utilities, as well as demolition of the existing Lifeguard Building.”

The construction of the new lifeguard facility will benefit the Long Beach Junior Lifeguard Program (LBJG), which hosts a six-week summer course with the aim of teaching young people lifeguard rescue techniques, first aid, ocean sports, physical conditioning and marine ecology.

Beachcomber reached out to Devon Beebe, a marine safety officer of the Long Beach Fire Department and LBJG coordinator, for more information regarding the new facility.

According to Beebe, the development of the new facility will help provide members of the JLBG with a much larger workspace.

“We’ll have a meeting space inside large enough for all our team members, which I feel greatly helps since we never really had that with our old station,” Beebe said. “Our old station had a very small square footage.”

Beebe continued: “There’s also going to be a new office space on site for our administration team, which allows us to take care of all our administrative duties and give us the ability to meet with junior lifeguards, team members and parents in a professional and private setting rather than out on the sand.”

Beebe also mentioned that the new junior lifeguard HQ will be housing a brand new stingray response room, which will be used for any and all injuries individuals may receive when encountering the local marine animals.

“Stingrays are present on all Southern California beaches, so our stingray response room is something that will be used to treat anyone who may have been stung by one on the beach,” Beebe said. “Luckily we have very few junior lifeguards that get stung during the program. But just in case, we’ll have the room readily available along with storage for stingray treatment bags and any other medical equipment.”

Other utilities that will be installed in the new junior lifeguard HQ include lockers, restrooms and a kitchen, which will all be used by the staff.

Beebe believes that the development of this new HQ will make work for the program feel more organized, compared to how it was in the past.

“In the past, we sort of had to create our own office space, which was basically bringing a laptop and a hotspot with you,” Beebe said. “So having this new office space in the headquarters will keep us more organized and make things easier to manage.”

Beebe continued: “Rather than before when we had to travel back and forth between our headquarters on the beach and our satellite offices. For example, we didn’t have printers at our old station so when we needed things printed, it wasn’t instantaneous. So having this new headquarters will be a big game changer for the program.

Long Beach estimates that 1,000 youths will be attending LBJG in 2023, as enrollment steadily grows over the years, according to Beebe.

“We thought we were doing well with 25 kids,” said Lifeguard Chief Emeritus Richard Miller, who began the LBJG in 1969 alongside Marine Safety Officer Patrick Flynn.

In the 53 years of the program, many of the LBJG’s alumni have pursued careers in public service.

“Some junior lifeguards go on to become lifeguards, firemen and police officers,” Marine Safety Chief Gonzalez Mendino said. “Some even go on to become city managers – like Long Beach’s own Pat West, who’s now retired.”

Preliminary work for construction of the new Junior Lifeguard facility had already begun this past November, with the construction area currently being fenced off from the public. Work on the new facility will be scheduled from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Minor disturbance of the 54th and Claremont Place parking lot would be expected as the contractors make utility connections,” the construction notice by the city of Long Beach said. “While efforts will be made to minimize inconveniences during construction, we appreciate your patience and cooperation throughout this project.”

The cost of the project’s construction sums to around $2.78 million, and is currently being supported by Tidelands Funding, according to the Long Beach Department of Public Works

The new junior lifeguard facility is expected to be completed by Spring 2023, just in time for next year’s summer season.

For more information on the construction of the new lifeguard facility, you can visit the Long Beach Department of Public Works’ website at https://www.longbeach.gov/pw/projects/junior-lifeguard-facility-rebuild-project/

And for more information about the JLBG, including how to register for their summer program, you can visit their official website at https://www.longbeachjgs.com/home