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>> I'll call this meeting to order.

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ms. Fasone, please call roll.

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>> council member coburn?

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>> yes.

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>> councilman register?

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>> yes, ma'am.

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>> vice mayor jarman?

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>> yes.

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>> council member casto?

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>> yes.

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>> mayor tettemer?

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>> first up is a presentation on

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the beach flag system by chief morgan.

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did we get the projector working?

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last minute I.t. Work, good job.

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>> mayor, council, I'm going to

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let director paul do the presentation

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today since this is his expertise and

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division.

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>> I appreciate the opportunity to

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engage with you on how to make our

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beaches safer, so with that, I'll

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turn it over to director paul.

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>> director paul?

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>> mayor, council, good the afternoon.

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so, my name's [inaudible] paul, city

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of panama beach fire rescue.

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I've been a lifeguard for over a

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decade, a fireman for a little longer,

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just rolling through the slide.

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there we go.

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so, my process of how I judge how

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hazardous the rip currents are every

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day is that every morning, I visit the

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shore line, I drive up and down the

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beach every morning from monday to

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monday every day.

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I visit various beaches, depending on

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the conditions, the wind and what the

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direction of the swell, how

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everything's coming in, our tide

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shift, I check out various spots.

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our flag system is a standardized

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system.

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it's created by the international

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lifesaving federation and then the

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united states lifesaving association

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which is the governing body for open

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water lifeguard adopted that system.

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and they include it into our training

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for our water open lifeguards.

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the first flag is a yellow flag, a

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medium hazard, this pertains to rip

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currents, we base our flags off of rip

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current, not so much wave action.

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single red flag means it's a high rip

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hazard, double red means the water's

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closed to the public.

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purple is marine pests such as jelly

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fish.

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all of this is directed all of the

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life safety federation's website for

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how they define the flags and their

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use, and also the pictures how they're

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depicted, the double red with a single

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red and a flag depicted beneath that.

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green flags is their statement on

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green flags.

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in some areas of the u.s., green flags

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are flown the indicate calm or mild

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conditions.

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international lifesaving federation

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considered this carefully and decided

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not to adopt the green flag.

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the primary reason is the fact that

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wills always a potential hazard

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present and that the view that it is

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best to notify people when conditions

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are unusually changing, rather than

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suggest they are ever completely safe.

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rip currents can form anywhere at any

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time and that has a lot to do with our

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sand, our sand is real fine and loose,

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as waste buildup and hit sand bar, it

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creates deep spots, and the picture on

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the left here, you see a green flag

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flying and you see pretty calm

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conditions.

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what most people would generally call

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a green flag day.

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on the picture to your right, you have

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pretty much mirrored the same

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conditions here, you have a shallow

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sand bar, a deep spot and then a

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shallow sand bar on the other side,

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you can see those with waves breaking

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across the sand bar.

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just to assess rip current wills

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always be present and there's always a

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hazard, this picture was taken

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immediately after our crews entered

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the water and rescued a ten year-old

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boy so, they made a rescue and a

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concerning note about this picture,

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even though our crews entered the

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water, made the rescue, people still

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walked right by us and got back into

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the rip current.

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so, this is our guideline on yellow

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flags, I mean, I'm sorry, on the flag

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system about how we work it every

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morning and it's guideline.

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we can move around with it the best we

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can and we always try to fly to the

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highest hazard in the beach.

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every morning I collaborate with my

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counterpart at the sheriff's office,

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they have a surf patrol that works the

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far end of the county on the east and

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west and I call him every morning and

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we talk about conditions, the weather,

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we talk about the tide, what the

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tide's doing.

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we talk about staffing in case we need

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like mutual aid resources requested,

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things like that.

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him and I work together on the best

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flag call for the entire island.

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our coverage, we staff lifeguards that

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fill city pier at private partnership

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from april 1 to september 31, we have

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roving patrols spanning 9.6 miles.

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in 2023, our lifeguards were able to

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complete 237 rescues, 2542 public

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assists, a public assists where the

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lifeguard proactively entered the

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water and prevented a rescue from

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happening, so prevented the emergency

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in the first place.

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the preventative actions, 172 thousand

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51, that's where the lifeguard noticed

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somebody was setting up their beach,

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like their beach towel or their tent

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umbrella in front of a rip or walking

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towards a rip and he decided to

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proactively grab those people and

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moved them to a safer place to be.

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37 medicals and 6073 calls for service.

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every morning I'm checking the weather

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forecast, checking the surf forecast.

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I always check the tide charts and I

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collaborate with noaa, the

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national weather service, and I

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utilize the noaa's five day rip

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current, noaa always putting out --

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they're gauging their data off of

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buoys and whether to kind of forecast

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the rip currents in your area, so I

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always take that into account.

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I take the tide charts into account,

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the winds,, but still every morning

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you have to go down to the shore line

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and put eyes to it.

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our lifeguards every morning get to

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the city pier, sometimes we go to the

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other parts of the water to get into

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the water and have a physical test in

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the rip currents, we try to see how

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strong they're pulling at that time of

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day and we try to gauge where we'll be

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closer to the end of the day.

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this is a multiagency collaborative

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effort here, we all work together,

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panama city beach fire rescue beach

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safety, bay county sheriff's office,

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bay county emergency services from

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orange beach, gulf shores alabama all

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the way to us is the emerald coast, we

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talk together about if there's a major

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storm or something in the gulf moving

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in, we try to collaborate our efforts

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together, work together.

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noaa, national weather service and bay

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county emergency services.

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how we notify the community is the

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major thing is alert bay.

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we post our flag conditions which will

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retain more to what our rip currents

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are doing on the day at our website,

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social media and local news media.

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alert bay has really proven to be the

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greatest asset tool for communication

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to the community but it requires

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people to subscribe to the text abert.

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if you subscribe to the test alert,

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text pcb flags to 888777, every

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morning you'll get a text alert to our

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flag system and what it's doing for the

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day.

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a little bit about rip currents is

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that how they work here, you've got

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two shallow sand bases and you'll have

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a deep spot, as waves spill over on to

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the sand bank, it moves the sand away

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creating that.

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as waves wash into store, the water

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washing up to the shore line and

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recedes back into the sea, it's going

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the focus on that deep spot.

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you have to watch your tide shift,

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anything over a foot drives concern

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for me, as your tide shifts down

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throughout the day, if you're at high

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tide and gauge your currents in the

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morning, you have this less space

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across the shallow sand bar but still

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have the same amount of volume coming

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in, so your rip currents are going to

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get stronger throughout the day and

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like I said, rip currents can form

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anywhere at any time.

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so, that's all I have for that.

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do you have questions for me?

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>> director paul, how often does a

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flag change during the day?

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>> right, so we always try to flag to

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the highest hazard in the area, so say

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like more over to the beach, it may be

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yellow flag conditions but over here

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we may have developed rip currents, we

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try to flag to that, you may have a

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single red so we'll flag uniformity

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and consistency, we'll flag the same

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flag across the 18 miles of beach for

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the whole island.

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when we fly a flag and for me, if we

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start getting a few water rescue calls

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and they're consistent and pretty

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close together, that's telling me that

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the rip currents are now a little more

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developed and the conditions that are

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present are beyond the capabilities of

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the individuals on the shore and the

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people in the water, so in order to

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prevent a drowning, prevent an

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incident and prevent anything bad from

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happening for our first responders,

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we'll put up double reds.

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>> okay.

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so, you know how frequent because I

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noticed that's been happening a decent

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amount recently.

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>> I don't have a number for you how

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frequent it is.

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>> it was a surprise question.

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>> you always have -- I'm always

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looking out for that in case we do

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need to upgrade.

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>> one other question, do you think we

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should change our warning signage if

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we're never going to fly a

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green flag?

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>> I think our information needs to be

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consistent.

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the information that the's along the

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boardwalks and anything that's posted

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is very important to me.

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I think it all should be consistent

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even how we fly the flags.

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when you fly a double red flag, you

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should have a sign red with something

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beneath it, we shouldn't mix the two,

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it needs to stay consistent.

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>> questions from council?

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>> yeah, I want to clarify one thing

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with the alert bay warnings, isn't

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there a geofence when you go to double

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00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000
red that you're not required to be

279
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000
signed up for alert bay to get that

280
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,000
alert?

281
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000
>> I believe they do have a geofence

282
00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,000
capability but I'm not in charge of

283
00:12:58,000 --> 00:12:59,000
that.

284
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,000
>> are we utilizing that?

285
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,000
I believe we are.

286
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000
I have seen a lot of my guests and I

287
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000
would assume at the hotel that are

288
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000
getting that alert around the pool

289
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000
deck, they're inside of that geofenced

290
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,000
area, does anybody have an answer for

291
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,000
that?

292
00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,000
>> tdc sends that out for the

293
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:19,000
geofencing, if you're in that area,

294
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:20,000
you will get that alert.

295
00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000
>> whether you're flying a flag in the

296
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,000
morning, you're taking into account

297
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,000
the coastal sea breeze pick-up in the

298
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,000
afternoon that we always are

299
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:30,000
accustomed to?

300
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000
>> I always try to, I try to make the

301
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000
educated flag call for the information

302
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,200
that's presented to me at the time

303
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,000
which is a weather forecast, I take

304
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,000
that with a grain of salt and then

305
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:42,000
what I see in front of me in the

306
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,000
moment.

307
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,000
>> it's time consuming for you guys to

308
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,000
change how many flags do we have

309
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,000
inside the city limit, flag poles?

310
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,000
>> the city of panama city beach

311
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,000
has 28, we change 26.

312
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000
there's a few at the county pier that

313
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,000
the county guards take care of, so we

314
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,000
take care of 26 flag poles.

315
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000
>> how long do you say it would take

316
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000
your team to change those and upgrade

317
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,000
those?

318
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,000
>> about 45 minutes.

319
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,000
>> okay.

320
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,000
45 minutes is a long time when rip

321
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000
currents develop, alright, fantastic,

322
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,000
thank you, I appreciate everything you

323
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,000
do, thank you.

324
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000
>> thank you.

325
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000
>> is there a possible rip current in

326
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,000
this area, I wouldn't want to say

327
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,000
affirmative?

328
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000
>> the flag system the great secondary

329
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,000
tool utilized by the lifeguard and

330
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,000
lifeguards use local swim flags to

331
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,200
mark rip currents, it's like a no

332
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,000
swimmer flag, we'll go to one side of

333
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,000
the rip, post it, go to the other side

334
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,000
and post it.

335
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,000
as we're doing our preventative

336
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:01,100
actions, we'll point to that area and

337
00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:03,100
say no swimming between those two

338
00:15:03,100 --> 00:15:05,100
flags. Sh

339
00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:07,100
>> we're doing that now?

340
00:15:07,100 --> 00:15:08,100
>> at guarded beaches.

341
00:15:08,100 --> 00:15:09,100
if you start carrying out these flags,

342
00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:10,200
they could be costly, as you stake

343
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,200
them and put them down, they end up

344
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,200
being stolen, they turn into great

345
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,602
souvenirs, and each flag is about 100

346
00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:23,200
bucks, each flag.

347
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,200
>> thank you.

348
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,202
>> do you see rips form more prevalent

349
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:33,200
during a certain time of the year?

350
00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,200
it's constant?

351
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,200
>> yeah, rip currents can form

352
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,200
anywhere at any time and it's all

353
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:48,200
dependent on the conditions that are

354
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:53,200
leading up to that day and in our area

355
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:55,200
along the emerald coast, our rip

356
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,200
currents can linger.

357
00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,200
that we'll fly a few days of double

358
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,200
red flags, the first day will be

359
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,200
pretty rough, as the conditions are ce

360
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,200
receding and calming down, we'll keep

361
00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,200
our double reds up and then even

362
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,200
slowly downgraded to a single rip and

363
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,200
then from there because our rip

364
00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,200
currents will linger and the hazard

365
00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,200
that -- the issue that's really

366
00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,200
prevalent is that when people visit

367
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,200
our shore line, they'll see the surf,

368
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,200
it looks really calm, it looses very

369
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,200
inviting, it's clear blue skies and

370
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,200
looks really nice but the rip currents

371
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:33,200
are still wringing.

372
00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,200
you really only need about three to

373
00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,200
five mile an hour winds coming out of

374
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,200
the south, southwest, southeast to

375
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,200
really power a rip current.

376
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,200
our rip currents are formed by wave

377
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,200
action that obverses sand away out of

378
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:48,200
the shallow sand bars and make deep

379
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,200
spots but as the wind pushes the

380
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:52,200
waves, as the winds creates these

381
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,200
waves and pushes the water up to

382
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,200
the shore line, it recedes back out so

383
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,200
your rip currents will always be

384
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,200
working, they do work off of a time

385
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:05,200
interval, so your rip currents are

386
00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,200
always going to be working until the

387
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,200
wind dies or shifts.

388
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:10,200
>> makes sense.

389
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,200
>> you see less rip currents with a

390
00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:16,200
north wind than you would a wind up

391
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,200
coming out of the south pushing water

392
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:19,200
up on to the beach?

393
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,200
>> so, the north wind will shift from

394
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,200
the north and lay the surf down and it

395
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,200
will look flat on that green flag day,

396
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,200
you would probably have a north wind

397
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,200
that makes the water look that flat

398
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,200
but this's still a little bit of a --

399
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,200
you can't notice it, there's still

400
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,200
a swell, there's water still moving,

401
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,200
there's still currents moving, so even

402
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,200
then on a north wind day, your rip

403
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,200
currents will still work and on those

404
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:53,802
days, the calmer days are the ones we

405
00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,602
typically get most of our rescues.

406
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,200
>> the north wind is lying down the

407
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,200
first 500 yards of the beach that we

408
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,200
can see, and most of our north winds

409
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,200
are seasonally doing the wintertime.

410
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,200
>> we'll get north winds even in the

411
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,200
summer in the morning and as the

412
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,200
temperature over the land and over the

413
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,200
sea changes, it will shift back on to

414
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:19,200
land, you will have a sea breeze.

415
00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,200
>> okay.

416
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,200
>> darryl, just so the public will

417
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,200
know and I think most of you do know

418
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,200
this, but we have three public places

419
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,200
on the beach where lifeguards are

420
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,602
provided the city pier, the county

421
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,200
pier and rick seltzer park and there's

422
00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,200
other privateer resorts here, holiday

423
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,200
inn and boardwalks participating in

424
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,200
our public/private partnership.

425
00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:56,200
is that correct?

426
00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,200
is that the only -- I don't think

427
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,200
state park provides lifeguards either,

428
00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:02,200
do they?

429
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,200
>> the city of panama beach staffs

430
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,202
lifeguards at the pier, we have a

431
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,200
private partnership with broad walk

432
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,200
that goes from april to september.

433
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,200
the county does staff lifeguards at

434
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:21,200
the county pier and at the rick

435
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,200
seltzer park.

436
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,200
>> so, you use your rovers to cover

437
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,200
the areas in between those on four

438
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,200
wheelers and how many guards do you

439
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,200
currently have?

440
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,200
>> right, so on patrol, I don't

441
00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,200
consider any of those roving patrol on

442
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,200
a guarded beach, you can't --

443
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,200
>> it takes too long to get to them.

444
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,200
>> we have nine full time lifeguards,

445
00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,200
that includes myself and six seasonal.

446
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,200
>> in your opinion, do you have enough

447
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,602
lifeguards to do your job effectively?

448
00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,200
>> no, he doesn't.

449
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:03,200
>> what was that?

450
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,200
>> no, you don't.

451
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:08,200
>> I'm not trying to put you on the

452
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,200
spot.

453
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,200
have you guys done a plan, I was

454
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,200
talking to ben with the tdc and he

455
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,200
suggested the city and the county do a

456
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,402
plan to let him know and the tdc is

457
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,200
contributing some more money, a couple

458
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,200
of these guys up here sit on that

459
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:31,200
board and they are going to give us

460
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,200
some more money for lifeguards but he

461
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,000
did mention a plan, so he would know

462
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,100
what you guys being the professionals

463
00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:40,100
are recommending, that he would be

464
00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:42,100
able to provide all of them one year

465
00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:46,801
but maybe that's a goal that we could

466
00:20:47,100 --> 00:20:48,100
reach.

467
00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:49,100
has there been a plan done that you're

468
00:20:49,100 --> 00:20:50,100
aware of recently, I know back in the

469
00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:54,100
day, they did one and they didn't go

470
00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:57,100
through with it, it was too expensive

471
00:20:57,100 --> 00:20:59,100
to provide.

472
00:20:59,100 --> 00:21:01,100
it was tourists mostly that were

473
00:21:01,100 --> 00:21:02,100
drowning and the council at the time

474
00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:06,100
didn't feel like it was fair to tax

475
00:21:06,100 --> 00:21:09,100
with an ad valorem tax the local

476
00:21:09,100 --> 00:21:12,100
people that are not drowning, it's --

477
00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:17,100
from the data that I saw that you guys

478
00:21:17,100 --> 00:21:19,100
collected, it's 90% tourists that are

479
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:21,100
drowning, it's not local people.

480
00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:23,100
>> sure, with our transient

481
00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:25,100
population, the real burden upon the

482
00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:27,100
lifeguard is we're preventative in

483
00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,100
nature, we're proactive.

484
00:21:30,100 --> 00:21:32,100
we don't -- we try to prevent

485
00:21:32,100 --> 00:21:33,100
the rescue or the emergency from

486
00:21:33,100 --> 00:21:35,100
happening in the first place so we're

487
00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:39,100
trying to talk to as many people as we

488
00:21:39,100 --> 00:21:42,100
can, 2023, we talked to 1.1 million,

489
00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:47,100
with a staff -- at that time, it was 8

490
00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:50,100
including me, we talked to a lot of

491
00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:51,100
people.

492
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:52,100
there are various plans that could work

493
00:21:52,100 --> 00:21:55,100
for the city, different methods,

494
00:21:56,100 --> 00:21:58,100
different tactics, we don't have to

495
00:21:58,100 --> 00:22:01,601
reinvent the wheel I believe but,

496
00:22:03,100 --> 00:22:07,100
yeah, and the presence of a trained

497
00:22:07,100 --> 00:22:09,100
lifeguard, you have a one in 18

498
00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:12,100
million chance of drowning in front of

499
00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:15,100
a properly trained united states

500
00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:16,100
lifesaving association accredited

501
00:22:16,100 --> 00:22:17,100
lifeguard.

502
00:22:17,100 --> 00:22:20,601
>> how many feet apart do they

503
00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:23,100
recommend the lifeguards?

504
00:22:23,100 --> 00:22:25,100
>> the industry standard is every 8th

505
00:22:25,100 --> 00:22:29,100
of a mile, but even with that industry

506
00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:31,100
standard, that's not set by osha,

507
00:22:31,100 --> 00:22:35,100
that's not sent my nfpa, that's what

508
00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:38,601
all the other united states life

509
00:22:39,100 --> 00:22:40,100
association accredited agencies, we

510
00:22:40,100 --> 00:22:42,100
all collaborate together across the

511
00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:43,100
country and we talk about our staffing

512
00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:46,100
and that is just the number that we

513
00:22:46,100 --> 00:22:48,100
found works.

514
00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:50,100
a lifeguard every 8th of a mile.

515
00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:52,100
for our shore line, we can implore

516
00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:55,601
different tactics and we can implore

517
00:22:57,100 --> 00:22:59,100
maybe a wider spacing that could work

518
00:22:59,100 --> 00:23:00,100
for us.

519
00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:02,100
even the agencies that try to meet

520
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:04,100
that standard can't maintain that

521
00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:06,100
standard of a lifeguard every 8th of a

522
00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:08,100
mile.

523
00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:12,801
>> maybe you may know, do we have a

524
00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:15,100
plan, an updated plan that we could

525
00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:18,100
get to dan or you could direct staff

526
00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:22,100
to try to take the old one and dust it

527
00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:25,100
off and we have a lot more people here

528
00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:26,100
now.

529
00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:27,100
maybe we need more, but he did ask for

530
00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:29,100
a plan today when I was talking to

531
00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:33,100
him, so maybe we can try to get him

532
00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:34,100
one.

533
00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:35,100
I'm asking why too many questions.

534
00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:38,100
>> I think that's worth discussing in

535
00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:40,100
a little bit.

536
00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:42,100
director paul, can you talk about the

537
00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:45,100
importance of a lifeguard beach versus

538
00:23:45,100 --> 00:23:46,100
the roving patrols you're doing now

539
00:23:46,100 --> 00:23:50,201
and what the difference is, the way

540
00:23:52,100 --> 00:23:55,100
the lifeguards act at a lifeguard

541
00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:56,100
beach versus roving patrols?

542
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:59,100
>> sure, like I said before, the very

543
00:23:59,100 --> 00:24:02,100
nature of a lifeguard is to be

544
00:24:02,100 --> 00:24:03,100
proactive and preventative, to first

545
00:24:03,100 --> 00:24:05,100
make contact with individuals

546
00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:08,601
visioning the beach, being that person

547
00:24:09,100 --> 00:24:11,100
on the sand with the community

548
00:24:11,100 --> 00:24:13,100
outreach that's going to warn you of a

549
00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:15,100
rip current, educate you on what a rip

550
00:24:15,100 --> 00:24:17,100
current is.

551
00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:19,100
tell you where the safe place to swim

552
00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:20,100
is.

553
00:24:20,100 --> 00:24:23,601
as far as roving patrol, our

554
00:24:25,100 --> 00:24:26,100
lifeguards, when staffing permits,

555
00:24:26,100 --> 00:24:28,100
we have one roving patrol for

556
00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:30,401
the entire city proper.

557
00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:35,100
that puts a lot of work on that one

558
00:24:35,100 --> 00:24:37,100
lifeguard to make a lot of public

559
00:24:37,100 --> 00:24:39,100
contacts and a lot of preventative

560
00:24:39,100 --> 00:24:41,100
actions and like I said, rip currents

561
00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:45,100
could form anywhere at any time and if

562
00:24:45,100 --> 00:24:47,100
you google image our shore line a lot,

563
00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:49,100
you'll see rips, rips, rips, so that

564
00:24:49,100 --> 00:24:52,601
makes up for a tough day.

565
00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:56,100
I'm sorry, what was the rest of your

566
00:24:56,100 --> 00:24:57,100
question.

567
00:24:57,100 --> 00:24:58,100
what's the difference.

568
00:24:58,100 --> 00:24:59,100
>> yeah.

569
00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:01,100
>> long story short, I can talk to you

570
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:02,100
all day about that.

571
00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:03,100
the lifeguards --

572
00:25:03,100 --> 00:25:05,100
>> we have about ten minutes.

573
00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:06,100
>> the lifeguard's going to be there

574
00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:09,100
to be proactive, not like a reactive

575
00:25:09,100 --> 00:25:11,401
service, we're very proactive.

576
00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:15,100
you shouldn't see rescues at a

577
00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:18,601
lifeguard beach, you should only see

578
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:21,100
public assistance.

579
00:25:21,100 --> 00:25:23,100
>> lifeguards at beaches is a

580
00:25:23,100 --> 00:25:25,100
different animal than the roving

581
00:25:25,100 --> 00:25:27,100
patrols we have now, the roving

582
00:25:27,100 --> 00:25:30,100
patrols seem like a bandage, I

583
00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:32,100
don't want to put words in your mouth,

584
00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:34,100
we're doing what we can with them.

585
00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:38,100
I've seen a patrol go by, tell someone

586
00:25:38,100 --> 00:25:40,100
to get out of the water, do some

587
00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:41,100
education, as soon as they leave,

588
00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:42,100
they're back in.

589
00:25:42,100 --> 00:25:44,100
>> yes.

590
00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:46,100
that's currently our struggle.

591
00:25:46,100 --> 00:25:47,100
>> yeah.

592
00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:48,100
>> every day.

593
00:25:48,100 --> 00:25:51,100
>> are there any hot spots or any

594
00:25:51,100 --> 00:25:54,100
places on the beach that have a decent

595
00:25:54,100 --> 00:25:56,100
amount more population than others

596
00:25:56,100 --> 00:26:00,100
that would maybe make good options for

597
00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:01,100
additional lifeguard beaches?

598
00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:03,100
>> yes.

599
00:26:03,100 --> 00:26:06,100
I've printed out a heat map off of our

600
00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:08,100
analytics software through watchtower,

601
00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:11,100
it's a great software, it's tailored

602
00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:13,100
made specifically for lifeguards and

603
00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:15,100
it uploads all your stats to the usla

604
00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:18,100
it's great and it prints you out a

605
00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:21,100
heat map on everything you do, but I

606
00:26:21,100 --> 00:26:22,100
printed that out, it was pretty much

607
00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:25,601
the whole shore line was red.

608
00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:28,100
we're everywhere, yeah.

609
00:26:28,100 --> 00:26:29,100
>> okay.

610
00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:34,100
and then one more before I toss it off.

611
00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:36,100
if I am correct in understanding our

612
00:26:36,100 --> 00:26:39,100
flag system is almost entirely based

613
00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:41,100
on rip currents, was that a correct

614
00:26:41,100 --> 00:26:42,100
understanding of the statement?

615
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:43,100
>> yes.

616
00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:44,100
>> so, should we maybe change --

617
00:26:44,100 --> 00:26:46,100
because it talks about high surf or

618
00:26:46,100 --> 00:26:49,100
strong currents and if we're based

619
00:26:49,100 --> 00:26:50,100
centrally on rip currents, I

620
00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:52,100
understand this is standard signage

621
00:26:52,100 --> 00:26:55,100
that we're pulling but we don't have a

622
00:26:55,100 --> 00:26:57,100
green flag, and it's based on rip

623
00:26:57,100 --> 00:26:59,100
currents, maybe focusing the signage

624
00:26:59,100 --> 00:27:02,100
on rip currents rather than this

625
00:27:02,100 --> 00:27:03,100
generic language may make sense.

626
00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:06,100
>> right, so the definitions were

627
00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:09,100
based off of the international

628
00:27:09,100 --> 00:27:10,100
lifesaving federations definition,

629
00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:13,100
they set the definition, and the usla

630
00:27:13,100 --> 00:27:16,100
makes it available for lifeguard

631
00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:17,100
training for our lifeguards.

632
00:27:17,100 --> 00:27:20,601
they haven't adopted the green flag,

633
00:27:22,100 --> 00:27:24,100
so, the usla mirrors that statement,

634
00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:27,100
so we mirror the usla because we're

635
00:27:27,100 --> 00:27:29,100
accredited through them.

636
00:27:30,100 --> 00:27:34,201
as far as changing the verbiage, I

637
00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:39,100
really stress that the information

638
00:27:40,100 --> 00:27:42,100
that's present needs to be consistent

639
00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:45,100
across the board even how you fly the

640
00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:47,100
flags, e.g. Needs to be consistent.

641
00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:50,100
I've also noted -- I've spent a day

642
00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:53,100
watching people walk down the beach.

643
00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:56,100
I just face the access and I watch

644
00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:58,100
them walk and our sand is very unique

645
00:27:58,100 --> 00:28:01,100
in a way that it's just unique, it's

646
00:28:01,100 --> 00:28:02,100
not like any other sand anywhere else

647
00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:05,100
on a beach, so when people first come

648
00:28:05,100 --> 00:28:07,100
in contact with our beach, they're

649
00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:10,100
looking down at their feet because

650
00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:12,100
they're trying to keep their footing

651
00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:15,100
or they're amazed by our sand, but our

652
00:28:15,100 --> 00:28:17,100
signs are up like this but their eyes

653
00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:19,100
are looking down and our flags are

654
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:20,100
really high.

655
00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:22,100
we need our flags high so you can see

656
00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:25,100
them because they're spaced out,

657
00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:28,100
right, but usually you'll see like the

658
00:28:28,100 --> 00:28:30,100
dad carrying all the stuff and he's

659
00:28:30,100 --> 00:28:32,100
got his eye on a spot on the shore

660
00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:35,100
line he's trying to get all these bags

661
00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:36,100
too and then everybody else is looking

662
00:28:36,100 --> 00:28:40,100
down at the sand so they tend to miss

663
00:28:40,100 --> 00:28:44,801
the signs, they tend to miss it and

664
00:28:45,100 --> 00:28:47,100
even you'll get to a point where it's

665
00:28:47,100 --> 00:28:50,100
sign pollution, you get too many signs

666
00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:53,100
and the most important sign, the rip

667
00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:55,100
current sign is sometimes really low to

668
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:58,100
the sand and even dune grass is

669
00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:00,100
covering it, so the sign that you

670
00:29:00,100 --> 00:29:03,100
really need them to pay attention to

671
00:29:03,100 --> 00:29:07,801
is not prominent in the field of view.

672
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:09,100
>> I have a couple more.

673
00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:12,601
>> yes, council member coburn and then

674
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:20,100
councilman register.

675
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:23,100
>> yes, based on your relationships

676
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:25,100
with other people that are doing your

677
00:29:25,100 --> 00:29:27,100
job in other communities, are there

678
00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:30,100
any best practices we could adopt that

679
00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:34,801
would work for us that come to mind?

680
00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:51,100
>> [inaudible] to assess your shore

681
00:29:51,100 --> 00:29:54,100
line, assess your area and operate in

682
00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:56,100
the manner that's best for your area,

683
00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:58,100
so if you go to -- if you visit a

684
00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:00,100
beach, if you visit somewhere else in

685
00:30:00,100 --> 00:30:03,100
the country or even down south

686
00:30:03,100 --> 00:30:04,100
florida, conditions could be greatly

687
00:30:04,100 --> 00:30:06,100
different there, specific hazards

688
00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:09,100
could be greatly different there than

689
00:30:09,100 --> 00:30:11,100
what we face here so, there's probably

690
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:13,100
a few things that you can pull from,

691
00:30:13,100 --> 00:30:15,100
like maybe some policies but we really

692
00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:17,100
need to stay specific and tailored for

693
00:30:17,100 --> 00:30:19,100
our area because we're still unique in

694
00:30:19,100 --> 00:30:21,100
a lot of ways here.

695
00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:22,100
>> thank you, I think we just need to

696
00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:25,100
think out of the box here a little bit

697
00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:27,100
and see if we can't come up with some

698
00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:29,100
strategies that we can employ that

699
00:30:29,100 --> 00:30:30,100
would help your folks do their job.

700
00:30:30,100 --> 00:30:32,100
>> sure.

701
00:30:34,100 --> 00:30:35,100
>> councilman register?

702
00:30:35,100 --> 00:30:38,100
>> in regards to changing the signage

703
00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:40,100
possibly, I know we still have

704
00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:42,401
undertow and wave height

705
00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:45,100
that doesn't have to do with a rip

706
00:30:45,100 --> 00:30:47,100
current, is that part of the signage,

707
00:30:47,100 --> 00:30:51,801
don't we have some undertow or we have

708
00:30:57,100 --> 00:30:59,100
wave heights that can knock people or

709
00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:01,100
no?

710
00:31:01,100 --> 00:31:03,100
>> so, undertow is just a name for --

711
00:31:03,100 --> 00:31:05,100
>> for a rip current.

712
00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:08,601
>> there's nothing out there that will

713
00:31:09,100 --> 00:31:11,401
grab you and [inaudible]

714
00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:33,100
>> sounds to me like the mayor has a

715
00:31:33,100 --> 00:31:36,100
great idea to uniform our signage to

716
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:38,100
make it based around rip currents.

717
00:31:38,100 --> 00:31:41,100
>> I'm always for simple, concise

718
00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:42,100
uniform signage.

719
00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:45,100
>> one of the things I'm hearing you

720
00:31:45,100 --> 00:31:47,100
say is preventative actions, short of

721
00:31:47,100 --> 00:31:49,100
a fully funded lifeguard program,

722
00:31:49,100 --> 00:31:51,100
preventative actions would be the next

723
00:31:51,100 --> 00:31:54,100
best step to prevent drowning?

724
00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:03,100
do we need more preventative

725
00:32:03,100 --> 00:32:04,100
actions?

726
00:32:04,100 --> 00:32:06,100
>> sure.

727
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,401
>> more education, more preventative

728
00:32:09,100 --> 00:32:10,100
action.

729
00:32:10,100 --> 00:32:11,100
>> yes, that's all great.

730
00:32:11,100 --> 00:32:14,100
>> smoke alarms, sprinkler systems and

731
00:32:14,100 --> 00:32:16,100
fire detector systems save more lives

732
00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:18,100
than firemen.

733
00:32:19,100 --> 00:32:21,100
security cameras lead to more

734
00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:22,100
successful prosecutions than attorneys

735
00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:24,100
and police officers.

736
00:32:27,100 --> 00:32:30,100
no flag sign, refrigerator magnet, tv

737
00:32:30,100 --> 00:32:32,100
commercial, stood on the shore line

738
00:32:32,100 --> 00:32:35,100
and made a public contact with

739
00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:36,100
somebody and said don't swim here,

740
00:32:36,100 --> 00:32:38,100
there's a rip current, and let me

741
00:32:38,100 --> 00:32:40,100
educate you and point it out to them,

742
00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:42,100
explain the science behind it.

743
00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:44,100
what our lifeguards, how our

744
00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:45,100
lifeguards speak and explain things to

745
00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:48,100
people is very important to me and

746
00:32:48,100 --> 00:32:50,100
we train on that, how are we going to

747
00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:52,100
explain what we're going to explain,

748
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,100
how are we going to tell them where to

749
00:32:54,100 --> 00:32:55,100
go and where to move.

750
00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:57,100
>> that takes time, right, each

751
00:32:57,100 --> 00:32:58,100
interaction takes time.

752
00:32:58,100 --> 00:33:01,100
>> at a guarded beach when you have

753
00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:04,100
backup, when you have overwatch with a

754
00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:05,100
partner, lifeguards work best in a

755
00:33:05,100 --> 00:33:07,100
team, not really so much as single,

756
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:10,100
like when ld have a roving patrol,

757
00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:12,100
we try to put a partner with

758
00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:15,100
that if the vehicle will accommodate a

759
00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:18,100
second person simply because we

760
00:33:18,100 --> 00:33:20,100
learned that lifeguards work best as a

761
00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:21,100
team.

762
00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:23,100
>> it does, yeah.

763
00:33:24,100 --> 00:33:26,100
>> last one.

764
00:33:26,100 --> 00:33:29,100
from your metrics, less rescues at our

765
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:30,100
guarded beaches?

766
00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:33,100
>> yes, that is our standard, there

767
00:33:33,100 --> 00:33:35,100
shouldn't be rescues at a guarded

768
00:33:35,100 --> 00:33:36,100
beach.

769
00:33:36,100 --> 00:33:37,100
>> and you would attribute the fact

770
00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:40,100
that we have less need for rescues at

771
00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:42,100
guarded beaches due to the

772
00:33:42,100 --> 00:33:44,100
preventative actions that they're able

773
00:33:44,100 --> 00:33:45,100
to take there?

774
00:33:45,100 --> 00:33:46,100
>> yes.

775
00:33:46,100 --> 00:33:47,100
>> okay.

776
00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:49,100
>> you good?

777
00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:51,100
okay.

778
00:33:51,100 --> 00:33:52,100
director paul, thank you.

779
00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:53,100
>> thank you.

780
00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:54,100
>> okay.

781
00:33:54,100 --> 00:33:56,100
so, we are tight on time for this

782
00:33:56,100 --> 00:34:00,100
meeting, we have to start the next

783
00:34:00,100 --> 00:34:01,100
meeting at 5:00.

784
00:34:01,100 --> 00:34:03,100
we're going to have a discussion here

785
00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:05,100
I know there were some folks who had

786
00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:08,100
reached out ahead of time to do public

787
00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:10,100
comment, I'm going to allow a few

788
00:34:10,100 --> 00:34:12,100
public comments on this subject right

789
00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:13,100
now.

790
00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:15,100
the rest of the public comments can

791
00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:17,100
happen during public comment period in

792
00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:18,100
the next meeting, it will be pretty

793
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:21,100
quick, we have a short presentation,

794
00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:24,100
but we just -- the way of running this

795
00:34:24,100 --> 00:34:26,100
meeting, we got to end this one on

796
00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:29,100
time so we start this next one for

797
00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:30,100
legal purposes.

798
00:34:30,100 --> 00:34:32,100
so, for the folks who want to have

799
00:34:32,100 --> 00:34:34,100
public comment, could you raise your

800
00:34:34,100 --> 00:34:36,100
hand.

801
00:34:36,100 --> 00:34:37,100
okay.

802
00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:39,100
I know mr. Hill, go ahead.

803
00:34:39,100 --> 00:34:40,100
and I'm going to prioritize people

804
00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:43,100
who have not recently spoken to the

805
00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:46,100
city council on beach safety issues.

806
00:34:46,100 --> 00:34:48,100
if we have someone new here who's

807
00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:49,100
providing new information, they're

808
00:34:49,100 --> 00:34:51,401
going to be prioritized.

809
00:34:52,100 --> 00:34:54,100
>> thank you, I will take just a

810
00:34:54,100 --> 00:34:55,100
minute.

811
00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:59,100
I'm here on behalf of the rotary club

812
00:34:59,100 --> 00:35:02,100
in bay county, both in panama city,

813
00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:05,601
panama city beach and lynne haven.

814
00:35:06,100 --> 00:35:07,100
thank you for listening to me, mayor,

815
00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:09,100
you are right, we need to think

816
00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:10,100
outside of the box.

817
00:35:10,100 --> 00:35:12,100
we don't need to just think, we need

818
00:35:12,100 --> 00:35:15,100
to have action and thoughts and

819
00:35:15,100 --> 00:35:17,100
prayers for victims of drowning are

820
00:35:17,100 --> 00:35:20,100
not enough, we have to do more.

821
00:35:20,100 --> 00:35:22,100
the rotary clubs in bay county stand

822
00:35:22,100 --> 00:35:26,801
ready to partner with you guys with the

823
00:35:29,100 --> 00:35:30,100
professionals that are involved with

824
00:35:30,100 --> 00:35:31,100
these rescues, something called public

825
00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:33,100
rescue tubes, I've got a handout, I

826
00:35:33,100 --> 00:35:35,100
would love to give you guys and show

827
00:35:35,100 --> 00:35:38,100
you, these tubes are already in place

828
00:35:38,100 --> 00:35:41,100
and over 700 locations around u.s. And

829
00:35:41,100 --> 00:35:42,100
canada.

830
00:35:42,100 --> 00:35:45,100
there have been 400 known rescues by

831
00:35:45,100 --> 00:35:46,100
private citizens.

832
00:35:46,100 --> 00:35:48,100
they're similar to what a lifeguard

833
00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:50,100
does use.

834
00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:53,601
there are 16 tubes installed in nevar,

835
00:35:55,100 --> 00:35:56,100
and there's no loss of life where

836
00:35:56,100 --> 00:35:59,100
those tubes have been installed.

837
00:35:59,100 --> 00:36:02,100
[inaudible] has four tubes, pensacola

838
00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:03,100
has five tubes.

839
00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:06,100
these buoys if you will are placed

840
00:36:06,100 --> 00:36:09,100
along the cross overs, the rotary club

841
00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:11,100
here in bay county is ready to fund

842
00:36:11,100 --> 00:36:13,100
this program.

843
00:36:13,100 --> 00:36:16,100
there are foundations, there are

844
00:36:16,100 --> 00:36:17,100
businesses that would stand behind

845
00:36:17,100 --> 00:36:20,100
this to keep when someone's

846
00:36:20,100 --> 00:36:22,100
destructive or whatever to replace

847
00:36:22,100 --> 00:36:23,100
those tubes.

848
00:36:23,100 --> 00:36:27,100
one of the things that people are

849
00:36:27,100 --> 00:36:31,100
mindful of and fearful of is liability

850
00:36:31,100 --> 00:36:33,100
and risk and I can tell you that I've

851
00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:35,100
talked to a number of attorneys and

852
00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:38,100
they say that risk is very minimal but

853
00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:40,100
the second approach that I think this

854
00:36:40,100 --> 00:36:42,100
body and our county can get behind is

855
00:36:42,100 --> 00:36:45,100
is to change the good samaritan laws

856
00:36:45,100 --> 00:36:47,100
in the state of florida with a very

857
00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:48,100
minor change.

858
00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:52,100
the state of hawaii has install these

859
00:36:52,100 --> 00:36:54,100
tubes and they did a good samaritan

860
00:36:54,100 --> 00:36:55,100
law change.

861
00:36:55,100 --> 00:36:57,100
the packet that I'm going to provide

862
00:36:57,100 --> 00:36:59,100
you today has the florida language and

863
00:36:59,100 --> 00:37:02,100
it has the hawaiian language and it's

864
00:37:02,100 --> 00:37:03,100
very simple.

865
00:37:03,100 --> 00:37:05,100
it's very simple.

866
00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:08,601
it protects the private citizens that

867
00:37:09,100 --> 00:37:11,100
are partnered with you guys to provide

868
00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:13,100
lifeguards and it protects the

869
00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:16,100
property owners and the person trying

870
00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:19,100
to go out to rescue someone, we're

871
00:37:19,100 --> 00:37:21,100
not advocating people to go into

872
00:37:21,100 --> 00:37:24,100
dangerous waters but the truth is if

873
00:37:24,100 --> 00:37:25,100
you invite someone down here and they

874
00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:28,100
go into the water and they get in

875
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:29,100
trouble, most likely you're going to

876
00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:32,100
go in and try to rescue them and we've

877
00:37:32,100 --> 00:37:34,100
seen it time and time again when

878
00:37:34,100 --> 00:37:35,100
people go to rescue someone and they

879
00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:37,100
themselves end up drowning so these

880
00:37:37,100 --> 00:37:40,100
tubes can provide a backup, an

881
00:37:40,100 --> 00:37:42,100
assistance until help can get there

882
00:37:42,100 --> 00:37:46,100
and so I'm asking and imploring you to

883
00:37:46,100 --> 00:37:47,100
check this out.

884
00:37:47,100 --> 00:37:50,100
the rotary clubs here in bay county

885
00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:52,100
stand ready to partner with you to

886
00:37:52,100 --> 00:37:53,100
make this happen.

887
00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:55,401
>> thank you, mr. Hill.

888
00:37:56,100 --> 00:38:01,401
we only have time for one more, so who

889
00:38:02,100 --> 00:38:07,100
else was -- mr. -- is it mr. White?

890
00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:08,100
>> mayor?

891
00:38:08,100 --> 00:38:09,100
>> yes.

892
00:38:09,100 --> 00:38:11,100
>> may we get a copy of the handout

893
00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:12,100
now.

894
00:38:12,100 --> 00:38:14,100
>> I think that's reasonable.

895
00:38:14,100 --> 00:38:17,601
>> in the meantime, mr. Davis, in

896
00:38:18,100 --> 00:38:21,100
terms of liability, could you clarify

897
00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:23,100
what city liability would be for these

898
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:24,100
tubes?

899
00:38:24,100 --> 00:38:25,100
>> for providing the tubes?

900
00:38:25,100 --> 00:38:26,100
>> yes.

901
00:38:26,100 --> 00:38:28,100
>> I mean I think the liability is

902
00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:29,100
very minimal.

903
00:38:29,100 --> 00:38:33,100
as mr. Hill said, liability on the

904
00:38:33,100 --> 00:38:35,100
rescuer, that's a different analysis,

905
00:38:35,100 --> 00:38:37,100
for the city's liability, I think it

906
00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:38,100
would be fairly minimal.

907
00:38:38,100 --> 00:38:39,100
>> okay, alright.

908
00:38:39,100 --> 00:38:42,100
>> my name's allen white, I'm from

909
00:38:42,100 --> 00:38:45,100
panama city, born and raised here.

910
00:38:45,100 --> 00:38:46,100
thank you for your time.

911
00:38:46,100 --> 00:38:48,100
we've been working on a program for a

912
00:38:48,100 --> 00:38:51,100
little over a decade for the very

913
00:38:51,100 --> 00:38:53,401
reason we're here today.

914
00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:56,100
I can't get into a lot of detail on

915
00:38:56,100 --> 00:38:57,100
it because we just don't have enough

916
00:38:57,100 --> 00:38:58,100
time.

917
00:38:58,100 --> 00:39:01,100
one thing I would like to say is that

918
00:39:01,100 --> 00:39:03,100
we've researched rip current drowning

919
00:39:03,100 --> 00:39:06,100
around the world from england all up

920
00:39:06,100 --> 00:39:09,100
and down the east, west coast.

921
00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:12,601
we understand how the rip current

922
00:39:13,100 --> 00:39:17,100
works and professor rick stone did a

923
00:39:17,100 --> 00:39:20,100
study on rip currents and what the

924
00:39:20,100 --> 00:39:25,100
beaches had to add to one of the rip

925
00:39:25,100 --> 00:39:26,100
currents are natural sand bars, if

926
00:39:26,100 --> 00:39:28,100
you're born and raised here, you can

927
00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:31,100
walk 100 feet off shore, you would be

928
00:39:31,100 --> 00:39:34,100
in ankle deep water or if you go 100

929
00:39:34,100 --> 00:39:36,100
yards off shore and you would be in

930
00:39:36,100 --> 00:39:38,100
knee deep water.

931
00:39:38,100 --> 00:39:41,100
since dredging and [inaudible] it's

932
00:39:43,100 --> 00:39:44,100
changed everything, the tide breaks

933
00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:46,100
are hitting the shore line.

934
00:39:46,100 --> 00:39:48,100
there's not a natural protection like

935
00:39:48,100 --> 00:39:50,100
there used to be, but we have a system

936
00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:52,100
we've been developing that uses led

937
00:39:52,100 --> 00:39:55,100
lights, she was mentioning thinking

938
00:39:57,100 --> 00:39:58,100
out of the box.

939
00:39:58,100 --> 00:40:00,100
if you want to see the flag system

940
00:40:00,100 --> 00:40:02,100
working better, put it out into the

941
00:40:02,100 --> 00:40:04,100
water where you can see it, you have

942
00:40:04,100 --> 00:40:07,601
40 thousand people on the beach and

943
00:40:09,100 --> 00:40:12,601
everybody 's looking at the water.

944
00:40:13,100 --> 00:40:17,201
we have an indicator with an led

945
00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:20,100
light, an emergency camera system, if

946
00:40:20,100 --> 00:40:21,100
you get in trouble and don't have a

947
00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:24,100
cell phone, the minute you touch that

948
00:40:24,100 --> 00:40:27,100
button on that walkway and every

949
00:40:27,100 --> 00:40:28,100
access points have these lights, when

950
00:40:28,100 --> 00:40:31,601
you're walking down the walkway, the

951
00:40:32,100 --> 00:40:35,100
subliminal message will already be

952
00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:37,100
red, yellow green, whatever, so now

953
00:40:37,100 --> 00:40:39,100
you're walking towards the beach and

954
00:40:39,100 --> 00:40:41,100
you're getting that led light telling

955
00:40:41,100 --> 00:40:43,100
you what signal it is.

956
00:40:43,100 --> 00:40:46,100
and if you get in trouble, most people

957
00:40:46,100 --> 00:40:48,100
call, we have 911, I don't know

958
00:40:48,100 --> 00:40:51,100
where we're at, we don't know where

959
00:40:51,100 --> 00:40:53,100
we're at, we're in the middle of 40

960
00:40:53,100 --> 00:40:54,100
thousand people, we don't know where

961
00:40:54,100 --> 00:40:56,100
we're at.

962
00:40:56,100 --> 00:40:58,100
the minute they touch that light and

963
00:40:58,100 --> 00:40:59,100
open that light emergency box, it's

964
00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:03,801
like a fire alarm, they pick it up

965
00:41:05,100 --> 00:41:06,100
instantly, the signal goes to the

966
00:41:06,100 --> 00:41:08,100
gentlemen on the beach, on their

967
00:41:08,100 --> 00:41:11,100
ipads, their smart phones, the system

968
00:41:11,100 --> 00:41:13,100
changes the lighting system and this

969
00:41:13,100 --> 00:41:15,100
system has a verbal command.

970
00:41:15,100 --> 00:41:16,100
in other words, they can communicate

971
00:41:16,100 --> 00:41:19,100
with the people on the beach through

972
00:41:19,100 --> 00:41:21,100
this system on their ipad or their

973
00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:22,100
smart phone.

974
00:41:22,100 --> 00:41:25,100
they can change the system part of the

975
00:41:25,100 --> 00:41:27,100
beach, on the beach and the

976
00:41:27,100 --> 00:41:30,601
information coming from noaa from the

977
00:41:32,100 --> 00:41:34,100
shipping land buoys is instant, it's

978
00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:36,100
combining into their monitors, so

979
00:41:36,100 --> 00:41:37,100
there's several things.

980
00:41:37,100 --> 00:41:40,100
we can talk about this forever and we

981
00:41:40,100 --> 00:41:43,100
changed the law, [inaudible] wrote the

982
00:41:43,100 --> 00:41:44,100
amendment.

983
00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:46,100
>> we've changed the law and it's

984
00:41:46,100 --> 00:41:48,100
changed and now we can use the system

985
00:41:48,100 --> 00:41:49,100
in the state of florida.

986
00:41:49,100 --> 00:41:52,100
>> thank you, I appreciate you.

987
00:41:52,100 --> 00:41:53,100
okay.

988
00:41:53,100 --> 00:41:56,100
, we only have about 10, 15 minutes

989
00:41:57,100 --> 00:42:00,100
left of this meet, I'm going to cut

990
00:42:00,100 --> 00:42:01,100
public comment there.

991
00:42:01,100 --> 00:42:03,100
we're going to have to move

992
00:42:03,100 --> 00:42:05,100
public comment for this to the

993
00:42:05,100 --> 00:42:06,100
non-agenda comments for the next

994
00:42:06,100 --> 00:42:08,100
meeting which will be starting here in

995
00:42:08,100 --> 00:42:09,100
just about 20 minutes.

996
00:42:09,100 --> 00:42:11,100
I wanted to give the council time to

997
00:42:11,100 --> 00:42:13,100
discuss our options.

998
00:42:15,100 --> 00:42:19,100
for one, I am really interested in

999
00:42:19,100 --> 00:42:23,801
seeing what we can do to add lifeguard

1000
00:42:25,100 --> 00:42:26,100
beaches.

1001
00:42:26,100 --> 00:42:29,100
I think -- I've heard the great work

1002
00:42:29,100 --> 00:42:31,100
the tdc's recently done in terms of

1003
00:42:31,100 --> 00:42:34,601
finding an extra couple of hundred

1004
00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:36,100
thousand.

1005
00:42:36,100 --> 00:42:37,100
>> 360.

1006
00:42:37,100 --> 00:42:38,100
>> an extra 360.

1007
00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:39,100
>> that would go to us.

1008
00:42:39,100 --> 00:42:43,201
>> that would go to panama city beach

1009
00:42:44,100 --> 00:42:45,100
for this purpose.

1010
00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:47,100
I think it would be worth looking into

1011
00:42:47,100 --> 00:42:51,100
-- we only have one taker for our

1012
00:42:51,100 --> 00:42:52,100
public/private partnership and that's

1013
00:42:52,100 --> 00:42:55,100
because we asked them to fund 100%

1014
00:42:55,100 --> 00:42:56,100
including capital.

1015
00:42:56,100 --> 00:42:59,601
maybe we could consider looking at

1016
00:43:02,100 --> 00:43:04,401
subsidizing that public/privateer

1017
00:43:06,100 --> 00:43:08,100
partnership or taking some of the

1018
00:43:08,100 --> 00:43:10,100
public beach accesses and providing a

1019
00:43:10,100 --> 00:43:13,100
lifeguard beach there, it won't do the

1020
00:43:13,100 --> 00:43:14,100
entire island.

1021
00:43:14,100 --> 00:43:15,100
that would be a nice way to expand

1022
00:43:15,100 --> 00:43:18,100
that money but I'll let the rest of

1023
00:43:18,100 --> 00:43:21,100
the council go through comments and we

1024
00:43:21,100 --> 00:43:23,100
can see if we can fit two rounds in.

1025
00:43:23,100 --> 00:43:24,100
>> absolute will you.

1026
00:43:24,100 --> 00:43:27,100
>> do you want to start?

1027
00:43:27,100 --> 00:43:29,100
>> sure, I like both of your ideas.

1028
00:43:29,100 --> 00:43:33,100
I think if we covered the capital cost

1029
00:43:33,100 --> 00:43:37,100
for setting up a lifeguard at a

1030
00:43:37,100 --> 00:43:39,100
resort, that would save them some

1031
00:43:39,100 --> 00:43:41,100
money but then they would still be

1032
00:43:41,100 --> 00:43:43,100
paying the salary for the personnel

1033
00:43:43,100 --> 00:43:46,100
that would be stationed there and I do

1034
00:43:46,100 --> 00:43:50,100
-- perhaps we look at the beach access

1035
00:43:50,100 --> 00:43:53,100
and we pick some out and we make those

1036
00:43:53,100 --> 00:43:56,100
lifeguard beaches but still have

1037
00:43:58,100 --> 00:43:59,100
rovers.

1038
00:43:59,100 --> 00:44:00,100
I wouldn't want to take away from

1039
00:44:00,100 --> 00:44:01,100
having those rovers because I think

1040
00:44:01,100 --> 00:44:02,100
those are very important.

1041
00:44:02,100 --> 00:44:05,100
but I think those are two really good

1042
00:44:05,100 --> 00:44:06,100
ideas.

1043
00:44:06,100 --> 00:44:07,100
>> okay.

1044
00:44:07,100 --> 00:44:08,100
thank you, council member.

1045
00:44:08,100 --> 00:44:09,100
councilman register?

1046
00:44:09,100 --> 00:44:10,100
>> I agree with

1047
00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:11,100
you, I think those are both great

1048
00:44:11,100 --> 00:44:14,100
ideas but what I'm hearing and this is

1049
00:44:14,100 --> 00:44:16,100
manager that's kept me up at night

1050
00:44:16,100 --> 00:44:18,100
when people are drowning.

1051
00:44:18,100 --> 00:44:21,100
I worked on this beach since I was 14

1052
00:44:21,100 --> 00:44:24,601
working on the sand behind calipso,

1053
00:44:31,100 --> 00:44:34,100
no one drowned on that beach and the

1054
00:44:34,100 --> 00:44:38,201
reason is because I cared enough to

1055
00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:44,100
tell peel and take preventative

1056
00:44:44,100 --> 00:44:47,601
action, so I've been meeting with

1057
00:44:48,100 --> 00:44:50,100
beach service representatives,

1058
00:44:51,100 --> 00:44:53,100
[inaudible], james vaught, james jones,

1059
00:44:53,100 --> 00:44:54,100
some other endorsee up and down the

1060
00:44:54,100 --> 00:44:57,100
beach, I think we have 75-100 vendors

1061
00:44:57,100 --> 00:45:01,100
and I have met with dan roe at the tdc

1062
00:45:01,100 --> 00:45:04,100
several times regarding maybe a beach

1063
00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:05,100
ambassador program where we can

1064
00:45:05,100 --> 00:45:06,100
utilize boots on the ground.

1065
00:45:06,100 --> 00:45:09,100
they are not lifeguard certified, I

1066
00:45:09,100 --> 00:45:13,201
don't expect them to be, but if

1067
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:35,100
[inaudible].

1068
00:45:53,100 --> 00:45:55,100
( site buffering ).

1069
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:21,100
>> this is right there all the

1070
00:46:21,100 --> 00:46:23,100
time, I would like to see us take some

1071
00:46:23,100 --> 00:46:26,100
time to implement a beach ambassador

1072
00:46:26,100 --> 00:46:28,100
program where the tdc pays those

1073
00:46:28,100 --> 00:46:30,100
individuals to help us market our

1074
00:46:30,100 --> 00:46:31,100
beaches.

1075
00:46:31,100 --> 00:46:33,100
it ups the level of service for

1076
00:46:33,100 --> 00:46:34,100
residents, tourists, everybody that

1077
00:46:34,100 --> 00:46:35,100
visits our beaches.

1078
00:46:35,100 --> 00:46:39,201
it gives them an opportunity to feel

1079
00:46:43,100 --> 00:46:44,100
safe and understand.

1080
00:46:44,100 --> 00:46:46,100
some people, I hear people all the

1081
00:46:46,100 --> 00:46:48,100
time, I walk the floors in my building

1082
00:46:48,100 --> 00:46:50,100
all the time and look out, still

1083
00:46:50,100 --> 00:46:53,100
double red flag so we do see it and

1084
00:46:53,100 --> 00:46:55,100
that system does work but it's a lot

1085
00:46:55,100 --> 00:46:56,100
more effective when you're

1086
00:46:56,100 --> 00:46:58,100
communicating it and if I can get 100

1087
00:46:58,100 --> 00:47:02,100
more people in the bay county telling

1088
00:47:02,100 --> 00:47:03,100
people and helping you guys and I

1089
00:47:03,100 --> 00:47:07,100
think you had a number on your slide,

1090
00:47:07,100 --> 00:47:09,401
you had 172 thousand 51 preventative

1091
00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:12,100
actions.

1092
00:47:12,100 --> 00:47:13,100
that's a lot of actions and how many

1093
00:47:13,100 --> 00:47:17,201
people do you have on your staff?

1094
00:47:18,100 --> 00:47:19,100
nine?

1095
00:47:19,100 --> 00:47:20,100
how many including you?

1096
00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:21,100
nine people.

1097
00:47:21,100 --> 00:47:24,100
if I can give you 100 more in the

1098
00:47:24,100 --> 00:47:27,100
county, I can get a lot more

1099
00:47:27,100 --> 00:47:28,100
preventative actions.

1100
00:47:28,100 --> 00:47:30,100
they're not lifeguards, again, they're

1101
00:47:30,100 --> 00:47:33,100
not lifeguards, I worked on the beach,

1102
00:47:33,100 --> 00:47:35,100
we had to be lifeguard certified back

1103
00:47:35,100 --> 00:47:36,100
in the day.

1104
00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:39,100
I want to collect all these guys

1105
00:47:39,100 --> 00:47:42,100
together, and they're willing to do it, it's

1106
00:47:42,100 --> 00:47:43,100
something I'm passionate about and

1107
00:47:43,100 --> 00:47:45,100
something I like to see done and we

1108
00:47:45,100 --> 00:47:47,100
don't have to use the dollars for that.

1109
00:47:47,100 --> 00:47:49,100
marketing dollars, it is, if that's

1110
00:47:49,100 --> 00:47:51,100
something you guys are interested in,

1111
00:47:51,100 --> 00:47:53,100
I rhinitis good idea and I would love

1112
00:47:53,100 --> 00:47:54,100
to remove restrictions on double red

1113
00:47:54,100 --> 00:47:56,100
flags where they can go across

1114
00:47:56,100 --> 00:48:00,100
property lines sh we have atv's and

1115
00:48:00,100 --> 00:48:03,100
jet skis we can use, let these guys

1116
00:48:03,100 --> 00:48:07,100
cross property eyes if they can make a

1117
00:48:07,100 --> 00:48:08,100
preventative action and save a life.

1118
00:48:08,100 --> 00:48:09,100
>> thank you.

1119
00:48:09,100 --> 00:48:11,100
>> thank you.

1120
00:48:14,100 --> 00:48:17,601
>> I support that 110% and using new

1121
00:48:18,100 --> 00:48:20,100
marketing money, it would be a lot

1122
00:48:20,100 --> 00:48:23,100
more money than what we're getting and

1123
00:48:23,100 --> 00:48:26,100
getting a lot more bodies and I love

1124
00:48:26,100 --> 00:48:29,100
the rotary's idea of putting those

1125
00:48:29,100 --> 00:48:31,100
rescue tubes down there.

1126
00:48:31,100 --> 00:48:34,100
I also was a lifeguard, I started my

1127
00:48:34,100 --> 00:48:38,801
career as a city lifeguard back in the

1128
00:48:41,100 --> 00:48:44,100
70's and that's a tough job you guys

1129
00:48:44,100 --> 00:48:46,100
are doing, very tough.

1130
00:48:46,100 --> 00:48:49,100
and the ones that we were able to save

1131
00:48:49,100 --> 00:48:53,100
I remember were the ones that had what

1132
00:48:53,100 --> 00:48:57,100
we call back then a three dollar

1133
00:48:57,100 --> 00:49:01,100
inflatable float and by the time we

1134
00:49:01,100 --> 00:49:04,100
got down there, it would take five to

1135
00:49:04,100 --> 00:49:06,100
ten minutes to get there.

1136
00:49:06,100 --> 00:49:09,100
if they didn't have some type of

1137
00:49:09,100 --> 00:49:11,100
flotation device for them, that was a

1138
00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:13,100
recovery effort at that time, it

1139
00:49:13,100 --> 00:49:16,100
wasn't saving anybody, but I remember

1140
00:49:16,100 --> 00:49:18,100
one particular day, I didn't count

1141
00:49:18,100 --> 00:49:20,100
them when we got down there, I was in

1142
00:49:20,100 --> 00:49:23,100
awe on how people were out there

1143
00:49:23,100 --> 00:49:24,100
afterwards.

1144
00:49:24,100 --> 00:49:25,100
it was over with, I think they said

1145
00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:28,601
there was 17 people and one family

1146
00:49:29,100 --> 00:49:33,100
were out there and had gotten trapped

1147
00:49:33,100 --> 00:49:35,100
out there, two at a time, five at a

1148
00:49:35,100 --> 00:49:38,100
time, it started with two kids and they

1149
00:49:38,100 --> 00:49:42,100
all went in and there was a real bad

1150
00:49:42,100 --> 00:49:45,100
rip behind the gulf crest, and so they

1151
00:49:45,100 --> 00:49:49,100
had five or six of those different

1152
00:49:49,100 --> 00:49:51,100
colored air mattresses and this was

1153
00:49:51,100 --> 00:49:55,100
back in the late 70's, and so we took

1154
00:49:55,100 --> 00:49:58,100
a rope to them, we had 300 feet of

1155
00:49:58,100 --> 00:50:00,100
rope and we got two or three times we

1156
00:50:00,100 --> 00:50:04,100
got out there to them and ended up

1157
00:50:04,100 --> 00:50:05,100
getting them all in.

1158
00:50:05,100 --> 00:50:07,100
two or three went to the hospital, you

1159
00:50:07,100 --> 00:50:11,201
know, but they survived and we rescued

1160
00:50:12,100 --> 00:50:13,100
them but what slavered those people

1161
00:50:13,100 --> 00:50:16,100
was they had a flotation device and

1162
00:50:16,100 --> 00:50:20,100
the people that had the state of mine

1163
00:50:20,100 --> 00:50:22,100
to get another float before they went

1164
00:50:22,100 --> 00:50:24,100
in the water because if you ever go in

1165
00:50:24,100 --> 00:50:26,100
the water after somebody, don't go

1166
00:50:26,100 --> 00:50:29,100
without some type of flotation device.

1167
00:50:29,100 --> 00:50:34,401
what I want to propose and I talked to

1168
00:50:35,100 --> 00:50:37,100
cole about it and it's out of the box

1169
00:50:37,100 --> 00:50:40,100
like mary was saying, I propose that

1170
00:50:40,100 --> 00:50:44,100
on a single red flag day, that we

1171
00:50:44,100 --> 00:50:46,100
require the swimmers, the people going

1172
00:50:46,100 --> 00:50:50,801
in the gulf to have some type of

1173
00:50:51,100 --> 00:50:52,100
flotation device.

1174
00:50:52,100 --> 00:50:54,100
I've been watching that, like darryl

1175
00:50:54,100 --> 00:50:57,100
said, I watch them go down there, they

1176
00:50:57,100 --> 00:51:01,201
have it with them, they have boogie

1177
00:51:02,100 --> 00:51:04,100
boards, floats, noodles, any of those

1178
00:51:04,100 --> 00:51:07,100
things will keep people alive long

1179
00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:10,100
enough if they caught in one until

1180
00:51:10,100 --> 00:51:13,100
somebody can get there and not do a

1181
00:51:13,100 --> 00:51:17,100
recovery, it can be a happy ending if

1182
00:51:17,100 --> 00:51:18,100
they have some type of flotation

1183
00:51:18,100 --> 00:51:20,100
device and that's thinking way outside

1184
00:51:20,100 --> 00:51:23,100
of the box because I know if kohl's

1185
00:51:23,100 --> 00:51:24,100
been able to find any other city that

1186
00:51:24,100 --> 00:51:25,100
does that.

1187
00:51:25,100 --> 00:51:27,100
over the years, people have asked me,

1188
00:51:27,100 --> 00:51:30,100
just make them wear life jackets,

1189
00:51:30,100 --> 00:51:31,100
nobody will die.

1190
00:51:31,100 --> 00:51:33,100
and I said, well, it's not that easy.

1191
00:51:33,100 --> 00:51:35,100
people don't want to come to the beach

1192
00:51:35,100 --> 00:51:37,100
and wear a life jacket but that's the

1193
00:51:37,100 --> 00:51:38,100
truth.

1194
00:51:38,100 --> 00:51:42,100
if they would, then nobody would drown.

1195
00:51:42,100 --> 00:51:45,100
but anyhow, I do think that that's

1196
00:51:45,100 --> 00:51:47,100
worth trying and it may not work but

1197
00:51:47,100 --> 00:51:48,100
we got to do something.

1198
00:51:48,100 --> 00:51:50,100
everybody says you have to do

1199
00:51:50,100 --> 00:51:53,100
something, we're trying to get more

1200
00:51:53,100 --> 00:51:55,100
lifeguards and tdc is stepping up with

1201
00:51:55,100 --> 00:51:58,100
more money which is great and this

1202
00:51:58,100 --> 00:52:00,100
ambassador program and the rotary, the

1203
00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:04,100
public, we need to do something and I

1204
00:52:04,100 --> 00:52:06,100
don't know if this is directed to

1205
00:52:06,100 --> 00:52:08,100
counsel at this point to have some

1206
00:52:08,100 --> 00:52:09,100
dialogue about it, I don't know if we

1207
00:52:09,100 --> 00:52:13,801
could do that but that would be my

1208
00:52:15,100 --> 00:52:16,100
suggestion, we're kind of at a point

1209
00:52:16,100 --> 00:52:17,100
where we need toe do something.

1210
00:52:17,100 --> 00:52:18,100
>> councilman, I was going to let

1211
00:52:18,100 --> 00:52:19,100
everyone talk and then kind of get

1212
00:52:19,100 --> 00:52:20,100
direction if that works.

1213
00:52:20,100 --> 00:52:21,100
>> perfect.

1214
00:52:21,100 --> 00:52:23,100
>> vice mayor, do you think you can do

1215
00:52:23,100 --> 00:52:24,100
it in two minutes.

1216
00:52:24,100 --> 00:52:26,100
>> I'll be really quick.

1217
00:52:26,100 --> 00:52:29,100
I think we've come up with some good

1218
00:52:29,100 --> 00:52:30,100
ideas.

1219
00:52:30,100 --> 00:52:33,100
we definitely get with the tdc as well

1220
00:52:33,100 --> 00:52:36,100
on the tubes, I've been looking at

1221
00:52:36,100 --> 00:52:39,601
some ai software that can complement

1222
00:52:46,100 --> 00:52:47,100
lifeguards.

1223
00:52:47,100 --> 00:52:49,100
I like the ambassador program, it can

1224
00:52:49,100 --> 00:52:53,801
free up some of the lifeguards to do

1225
00:52:54,100 --> 00:52:57,100
more rescue and not have to be the

1226
00:52:57,100 --> 00:52:58,100
preventative nature if we've got 100

1227
00:52:58,100 --> 00:53:00,100
extra people out there doing it, so

1228
00:53:00,100 --> 00:53:01,100
that's it.

1229
00:53:01,100 --> 00:53:02,100
>> okay.

1230
00:53:02,100 --> 00:53:05,100
I heard about five ideas, let me

1231
00:53:05,100 --> 00:53:07,100
summarize them.

1232
00:53:07,100 --> 00:53:10,100
one is investigating a subsidized

1233
00:53:10,100 --> 00:53:12,401
program including maybe potentially

1234
00:53:13,100 --> 00:53:14,100
subsidizing capital costs.

1235
00:53:14,100 --> 00:53:18,100
I personally would also like to see

1236
00:53:18,100 --> 00:53:21,100
subsidizing the actual lifeguards for

1237
00:53:21,100 --> 00:53:24,100
creating lifeguards on peps, enhancing

1238
00:53:24,100 --> 00:53:25,100
our public/private partnership.

1239
00:53:25,100 --> 00:53:27,100
the beach ambassador program,

1240
00:53:27,100 --> 00:53:30,601
investigating if there's any order --

1241
00:53:32,100 --> 00:53:33,100
ordinances or anything that we need to

1242
00:53:33,100 --> 00:53:34,100
do this.

1243
00:53:34,100 --> 00:53:37,100
the funding would come from tdc there.

1244
00:53:37,100 --> 00:53:39,100
if there's anything we need to do from

1245
00:53:39,100 --> 00:53:41,100
a city ordinance side there.

1246
00:53:41,100 --> 00:53:43,100
rescue tubes, I think it would be

1247
00:53:43,100 --> 00:53:46,100
great to work with rotary and I think

1248
00:53:46,100 --> 00:53:48,100
a few people here were interested in

1249
00:53:48,100 --> 00:53:51,100
rescue tubes, what are the options in

1250
00:53:51,100 --> 00:53:53,100
terms of mounting, can we have a

1251
00:53:53,100 --> 00:53:56,100
partnerships there, that's the third

1252
00:53:56,100 --> 00:53:57,100
one.

1253
00:53:57,100 --> 00:53:59,401
councilman casto's idea on

1254
00:54:03,100 --> 00:54:05,100
requiring flotation devices on single

1255
00:54:05,100 --> 00:54:07,100
reds and the information we got, we had

1256
00:54:07,100 --> 00:54:10,100
14 cases of drowning on single reds,

1257
00:54:10,100 --> 00:54:11,100
more than double reds at this point,

1258
00:54:11,100 --> 00:54:13,100
so I think that makes sense to

1259
00:54:13,100 --> 00:54:16,601
investigate that and then finally vice

1260
00:54:18,100 --> 00:54:20,100
mayor jarman's ai software.

1261
00:54:20,100 --> 00:54:22,100
>> I'm waiting for phone calls back.

1262
00:54:22,100 --> 00:54:24,100
>> so, does it make sense to get

1263
00:54:24,100 --> 00:54:25,100
options on those five?

1264
00:54:25,100 --> 00:54:28,100
>> and could we also get more

1265
00:54:28,100 --> 00:54:30,100
information from mr. White over here.

1266
00:54:30,100 --> 00:54:32,100
>> mr. White, yes.

1267
00:54:32,100 --> 00:54:36,201
>> so, those five plus, drew, if you

1268
00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:39,100
could reach out to mr. White and have

1269
00:54:39,100 --> 00:54:41,100
him talk to chief morgan, alright.

1270
00:54:41,100 --> 00:54:42,100
did we make it?

1271
00:54:42,100 --> 00:54:45,100
I think we made it, okay.

1272
00:54:45,100 --> 00:54:47,100
the public comment for -- I know a lot

1273
00:54:47,100 --> 00:54:49,100
of you wanted to do public comment on

1274
00:54:49,100 --> 00:54:51,100
this beach safety, just do it at the

1275
00:54:51,100 --> 00:54:52,100
next meeting which is going to start

1276
00:54:52,100 --> 00:54:53,100
here in about five minutes, okay.

1277
00:54:53,100 --> 00:54:55,100
that's it.

1278
00:54:57,100 --> 00:54:59,401
this meeting is adjourned.

1279
00:55:00,100 --> 00:55:02,100
( meeting adjourned ).