South Haven City Manager Talks Lifeguards

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There’s a petition effort underway to convince the city of South Haven to add lifeguards at its public beaches. The change.org petition as of Tuesday afternoon had more than 600 signatures following the weekend drowning of a 13-year-old boy in Lake Michigan. South Haven City Manager Brian Dissette tells WSJM News city leadership opted to no longer have lifeguards about 15 years ago.

“During that 15 year period, the city’s management team has implemented the plans laid out by our prior city council,” Dissette said. “That council spent the better part of a year reviewing all of the available data and information on whether or not to continue using seasonal lifeguards.”

Dissette says the focus since dropping the lifeguards has been on bolstering the abilities of first responders.

“At that time, the decision was made to invest heavily in the police department and South Haven Area Emergency Services to ensure the full time staff members of those two departments have the best training and the best equipment in an effort to ensure we provide the very best response possible.”

Dissette says local responders were at the scene of Saturday’s incident within minutes, but unfortunately, the boy could not be saved. He says the city expresses its deepest sympathies to his family. You can find the petition right here.