June 8, 2003: Eight people lost their lives locally in rip currents. There were 25 deaths on the Panhandle from rip currents out of 100 nationwide. Red flags were flying for those 25 deaths. Since the Beach Safety Service went up, there have been no deaths from riptides while the guards are on duty.
Bagby: Asks why they dont’ follow the Walton County flag practice of keeping flags up: It may be the ILS policy “but it’s not law … they’re not the law of anything.”
Joe: “You had that system before.” Bagby: No, the Fire District changes flags all along the beach–if there’s a change in currents, they change the flags.
Joe: “I don’t see the benefit” and for Fire Depts. to do it, they’d need to be trained to make that decision and assess the conditions. “I’d advise against it.” Even though Pensacola does it too.
Tom: On nancy’s speaker form it requests a bigger budget: What’s your budget sources now?
Joe: $250,000 from TDC, $100,000 from city and $150,000 from–darn, I missed it.
Tom: How does the TDC set that budget item? Joe: I don’t know, but Okaloosa Island sets the same amount.
Dewey: “I understand the philosophical argument about the flags–I’m not sure I’m sold about it yet.” The city may have to mandate that the flags fly, but for the moment he’s inclined to defer to the Beach Safety crew’s expertise. Does Joe have an amount of money in mind?
Joe: He’d like to review that and report back.
Sam: They’re off at 5 pm in the summer–she’d support keeping someone out there later at night. And she thinks Okaloosa Island gets more TDC $ than Destin–could Mr. Bagby check on that? Because it should be a fair split.
“And you guys do a phenomenal job and you never stop–every year you come up with a new program.”
Jim Link of Public Safety Committee: “I support Joe 100 percent.” He asked Joe and the Fire Chief if they could increase the hours available; they said yes, if they had more lifeguards. “This is the best beach in the United States and we don’t have the lifeguards to cover it … I think immediate action should be taken … one life is worth a heck of a lot more than the funds we’re putting into parking lots and researching sidewalks and all that. This should take priority over anything else our committee is doing.”
Jim Wood: Spent a day with D’Agostino and the other lifeguards: VERY impressed.

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