Committee wants more details before changing rules at beach

The Fairfield Public Safety and Transportation Committee received additional input Wednesday on how to address safety concerns at Bonnifield Lake.

The popular local swimming hole at Waterworks Park was closed July 12 after a Batavia man drowned while swimming at the lake. The city council voted 5-1 Monday to reopen the lake, leaving rules of use as they were prior to the drowning.

Fairfield Police Captain Dave Thomas and Fairfield Fire Chief Scott Vaughan told the committee Wednesday they had voiced their concerns in detail at the city council meeting Monday evening and had little else to say on the matter.

?Bonnifield Lake, in our view, was never set up with swimming in mind,? Thomas said, adding that ultimately, police officers are called to ?carry out the will of the people.?

Thomas said the police and fire departments have jointly discussed possible changes that might help tighten safety at the lake. Ultimately, however, officials agree investing in costly water safety and rescue equipment might help create a false sense of security at the lake. Thomas said a boat and related rescue equipment would cost approximately $20,000, an amount difficult to justify when economic times are tough and the equipment might never be used. Currently, neither the city nor the county has this type of equipment. The evening of the drowning, officers had to borrow boats from local citizens.

Reiterating assertions he made Monday, Thomas said once a drowning victim slips below the surface of the water, he or she becomes almost impossible to find immediately.

?We usually switch from a rescue to a recovery,? he said. ?It?s just that difficult to find someone.?

Vaughan told the committee the fire department will be purchasing four life vests and a 75-foot rope with grant monies received from the Greater Jefferson County Foundation.

?None of them would have done us any good in [the recent drowning] situation, though,? Vaughan said.

Vaughan also responded to comments made by Bob Klauber Monday. Klauber told the city council if a citizen has a heart attack on a sidewalk, road or other public place, those places are not closed. Vaughan said there is a significant difference between the scenarios Klauber presented and drowning events.

?If someone has a heart attack on the road, we can get to them,? Vaughan said, explaining in the case of a drowning, rescuers have no chance. ?We?re not going to have a chance. We?re just not.?

Klauber then spoke, praising fire and police officials for the job they do and stressing he and beach volunteers understand and are empathetic to the stress and upset the drowning caused emergency response personnel.

?When I said Monday night that I was sensitive to the remarks of the police and fire dept representatives, I was alluding in part to my upbringing in a police family. My father was a police officer in a town about twice the size of this one. Two of my uncles were firemen,? Klauber said.

?My dad drove the police ambulance, and many times took women in labor and accident victims to the hospital. He told me what it was like to be there when people came into this world and when they left it. And he told me much more,? he continued. ?So, I know well the stresses involved in the work of our guardians of public safety, as well as what is all too often a lack of appreciation for that work. And I empathize greatly with their desire to minimize the possibility of more stress in the future.?

?So what can we do to make things safer?? he asked.

Klauber and other citizens in attendance presented a variety of suggestions for making the lake safer ? some, affordable and feasible and others, costly and impractical.

Immediate changes that might be made include relocating the alligator head placed in the water to scare geese to shallow water. Children are intrigued by the alligator head and want to swim out to see it. By moving the alligator head to two or three feet of water would eliminate the temptation, he said. Purchasing additional buoys, life preservers and a rowboat also were discussed.

The beach volunteers receive $1,000 annually to fund expenditures at the lake. To date, only $150 of this money has been spent this year, Klauber said.

?A lot could be done with the budget that we have,? Klauber said.

City officials noted it is unlikely any changes to the rules and regulations at Bonnifield Lake will be made this season. The committee, which consists of council members Connie Boyer, Michael Halley and Susan Silvers, told citizens they intend to visit further with city attorney John Morrissey, beach volunteers and police and fire officials before any significant changes are made.