ACCOMACK COUNTY, VA - The town of Chincoteague is asking the Accomack County Board of Supervisors to enter a cost-share agreement with the National Park Service to contract lifeguard services on the beaches of Virginia's side of Assateague Island National Seashore.
The public beaches at Assateague National Seashore are still without lifeguards after federal cuts to the National Park Service budget eliminated the positions.
Mayor Denise Bowden told WBOC that town employees have been working closely with the National Park Service for months to find a solution.
"It shouldn't have fallen on any of us," Bowden said. "But it has and what we're trying to do is to look out for the public that's over there utilizing that beach."
The National Park Service has indicated a commitment of $90,000 towards the $117,035 emergency lifeguard service cost. In the proposed agreement, Chincoteague and Accomack County would split the difference, paying about $13,000 each.
"I think the county does recognize the importance the beach plays here in Accomack County and what it does for the economy, too," Bowden said.
The Accomack County Board of Supervisors met Thursday evening to discuss the agreement.
County Administrator Mike Mason presented the proposed solution. The presentation recommended that the board move to budget and appropriate $13,517 from the budget contingency to represent the County's share of the cost of lifeguard services.
Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-VA) previously pressed the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to address the lifeguard hiring freeze impacting Assateague.
Kiggans issued the following statement to WBOC on Thursday regarding the possible cost-share agreement:
This new lifeguard contracting deal between the town of Chincoteague, Accomack County, and the National Park Service—while long overdue—is welcome news. State, local, and federal cooperation is a must, but we also need to ensure that we are strategic when it comes to blanket personnel decisions like hiring freezes. This problem should’ve been avoided in the first place.
Beaches on the Maryland side of Assateague Island also remain unguarded. Assateague Island National Seashore Superintendent Hugh Hawthorne told WBOC on Thursday that there were no active discussions toward a similar agreement on the Maryland side.
Worcester County Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young said Commissioners have indicated interest in following Virginia's suit.
"Conversations have started," Young said. "We reached out to our federal delegation - so that includes our senators and Congressman [Andy] Harris - about who the right point of contact is to have a similar conversation."
Worcester County District 3 Commissioner Eric Fiori said he wants to push a cost-share agreement forward and hopes to discuss it at the upcoming July 15 commissioners meeting.
"I'm a huge supporter of that ... I would hope my fellow six commissioners as well would be," Fiori said. "I have three children ... all my children are strong swimmers, but I like that safeguard, so I would have fully supported that idea on the Maryland side beaches."
Zack Tyndall is the Mayor of Berlin, a nearby town in Worcester County. On Thursday, he told WBOC News that he would not be interested in Berlin contributing funds to a similar cost-share agreement in Maryland because Assateague's beaches are outside the municipal limits.