Butler County commissioners approved the hire of five lifeguards for the Alameda Waterpark on Wednesday. These five lifeguards will earn higher wages than guards have in the past as the county attempts to deal with a widespread shortage of pool attendants. Butler Eagle file photo.

The county commissioners on Wednesday ratified the hire of five lifeguards for the Alameda Waterpark after raising the wage earlier in April.

While the county ratified this hiring, parks and recreation director Lance Welliver said applications are still open. Welliver said in early April the county needed about 15 additional lifeguards to fully staff the pool.

"We are getting closer, but we are still in need,“ Welliver said.

One, hired as the pool’s lead lifeguard, will earn $14 an hour, while the remaining four will be paid an hourly wage of $12.50.

Butler County on April 6 approved higher rates of pay for lifeguards at the Alameda Waterpark in an attempt to ensure full staffing throughout the summer. Prior to the April 6 raise, pool attendants earned $10 an hour.

Welliver sought an increase during the April 6 Board of Commissioners meeting because he believed the county could not fully staff the pool without higher wages. the county would have to look at closing segments of the pool should they not have the requisite number of guards, Welliver said.

The hire of these five guards will likely not fill the county’s lifeguard vacancies, as Welliver said on April 6 the county did not “have half of what (they) need” in terms of pool attendants.

But the higher rates of pay for guards has likely drawn more applicants than the earlier $10-an-hour rate. Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman, said Wednesday these five new hires likely applied after Butler County raised its guard wage.

"We have gotten some more responses since our last meeting and they raised the rate, but we still need more,“ Welliver said.

While the Alameda Waterpark faces its own shortage and the county has attempted to rectify the shortage with higher pay, it is by no means alone in facing a lower number of lifeguards — and lifeguard applicants — in Butler County. Municipalities which operate their own pools in the county have raised their wages as high as $16 per hour in search of new guards.

Seven Fields, for instance, raised pay for its lifeguards to $15 per hour in hopes to operate the Town Park Pool with full capacity this summer.

Since February 17, county commissioners have only ratified the hiring of these five lifeguards.