The Los Angeles Board of County Supervisors have approved an agreement with Los Angeles city to keep county lifeguards at both Cabrillo and Venice beaches.
“Our L.A. County Lifeguards do incredible work at Cabrillo Beach every day and I am grateful we have found a solution so that we can keep them there,” Hahn said in an emailed statement following the board’s approval on Tuesday, Sept. 1. “This is a common sense agreement that shares some of the county’s lifeguarding costs with the city of Los Angeles.
“I want to thank Councilmember Tim McOsker,” she added, “for bringing the city back to the table and for his willingness to find a solution that works for both the city of Los Angeles and the county. At the end of the day, this is about our shared goal of keeping people safe at our beaches.”
The five-year agreement will be phased in through Oct. 1, 2031, and still must be approved by the L.A. City Council.
Built into the agreement is an option to extend the initial five-year term for an additional five years at the full reimbursement of the annual cost to the county for the ongoing lifeguard service.
County lifeguards have provided free services at outer Cabrillo Beach since 1975, with the inner beach overseen by city lifeguards. But recently, there had been uncertainty over whether that relationship could continue, with the county earlier this year citing budget concerns.
The county gave the city notice that it would need to end the agreement and negotiate a new deal, with at least some of the costs being shared by the city going forward.
“Under the (existing) agreement, the county has provided these services without cost reimbursement, resulting in the county subsidizing ocean lifeguard and related services for city beaches,” the board report said, adding that the county issued a 365-day notice of termination “after efforts to renegotiate the agreement to provide full cost recovery were unsuccessful.”
Negotiations followed and the agreement that was approved Tuesday was the result.
The total annual cost of lifeguard services at Cabrillo Beach stood at about $4.5 million, said Hahn, whose Fourth District includes San Pedro. (Including Venice and other city beaches for which the county provides lifeguard services, the total costs have been about $8.7 million annually, according to an October letter that county CEO Fesia Davenport sent to Jimmy Kim, general manager of the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks.)
It was during the city’s budget season that word came about that the county services could possibly going away altogether. That jump-started talks between the two sides, with a deadline looming this month.
Earlier this summer, the city and county reach a framework for a potential agreement to continue lifeguard services at city beaches, particularly the outer Cabrillo Beach.
But the details of what would be a cost-sharing pact still had to be worked out.
After sending letters back and forth for months, county and city officials — including Hahn, McOsker, county fire Chief Tony Marrone and others — met on June 29 and came up with the framework for the possible agreement.
Ultimately, Hahn said at the time, the cost-sharing would be phased in, with the city, which was dealing with its own budget challenges, eventually paying about $1.05 million to have the county continue providing lifeguard services at outer Cabrillo.
During public comments on Tuesday, Greg Crumb, speaking on behalf of the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association, which represents more than 900 lifeguards serving along 72 miles of coastline, thanked Hahn specifically and the board in general for reaching the agreement.
“I want to thank you,” he said, “for your continued commitment to the safety of our beaches, our beach communities, and the public program supported by our county lifeguard system.
“Our coastline is a resource and protecting it is our responsibility,” Crumb added. “L.A. Lifeguards built a system with staffing, training, equipment and experience to protect millions of beachgoers.”
The new agreement establishes reimbursement terms for the county, with the fees initially to be phased in over a five-year term to support cost recovering. It also rescinds the county’s earlier notice of termination.
Los Angeles city’s fee for Cabrillo Beach will gradually increase by about $267,000 annually over the next five years.
The city’s cost for county lifeguard services going forward would be about $1.2 million, with the county still shouldering the lion’s share of what would be the remaining amount for the service.
The city’s fee for Venice Beach will gradually increase by about $1.16 million annually over the next five years, amounting to an estimated $5.59 million in the final year.
McOsker thanked Hahn in July for bringing the parties together to ensure there would be no disruption in services.
“Together, we worked on a mutually beneficial proposal that shows real promise,” McOsker said in July. “City staff is currently reviewing the supporting materials, and we will continue working closely with the county through this process to reach a final resolution shortly.”
Hahn, in her July statement, thanked McOsker for his “willingness to find a cost-sharing arrangement that works for both the city of Los Angeles and the county.”
“My goal,” Hahn added in her earlier statement, “is keeping L.A. County lifeguards at Cabrillo Beach.”