Council votes in favor of agreement to donate Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Station to city

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The Jacksonville Beach City Council on Monday evening voted in favor of an agreement with the American Red Cross that will donate the Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Station to the city.

As part of the agreement, the Red Cross logo will be removed from the lifeguard station, which is located at the end of Beach Boulevard. The building will only be used for public safety-related activities — nothing commercial or residential.

The move comes after more than a year of back-and-forth negotiations between the city and the Volunteer Lifesaving Corps. They stemmed from a Department of Labor investigation that took issue with the overlap between paid guards who also served as volunteers.

Volunteers have been trying to regain access to the lifeguard station and resume their volunteer services. City Council member Dan Johnson said he hoped some form of a compromise could eventually be reached.

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