WESTBROOK – Lisa Wohl, the former manager of the Davan Pool at the Fred C. Wescott Building, is now back on the job, but as the head lifeguard at the pool.

“It feels great to be back,” Wohl, 52, said Wednesday in between swimming lessons. “My seniors were very supportive.”

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said Wohl returned to the pool on Monday after a lengthy negotiation process with the city.

“We’ve worked things out, and are moving forward positively,” Bryant said.

Wohl made headlines in April when the city laid her off, angering many users of the pool, including a large contingent of senior citizens who use the pool regularly for exercise. Mayor Colleen Hilton and Bryant said at the time that the move would save the city money.

Pool users lobbied the city to reinstate her. The City Council Finance Committee, while lacking the power to hire or fire anyone, voted to put back in the budget the more than $58,000 that Bryant said the city was saving after laying Wohl off.

Committee member John O’Hara, who has lobbied strongly for cutting the budget in many areas, was one of the members who voted for putting the funds back, saying at the time that public safety was more important than cutting costs.

This week, O’Hara said he still stands by that decision, calling Wohl’s layoff “penny wise and pound foolish.”

“I felt that the pool was a little bit on shaky ground without the supervision that Lisa gives,” he said.

Wohl worked at the pool for 32 years, first under the school department, and later for the city after the opening of the Westbrook Middle School.

Bryant told the committee that eliminating Wohl’s position cut $69,560 from the budget. Bryant said he increased the hours of other pool employees to help compensate for the loss. After factoring those new hours in, Bryant said, the net savings was $58,447.

Bryant said that since Wohl’s position was transferred from the school department to the municipal budget two years ago, that meant she did not hold a senior position in the eyes of the collective bargaining agreement with the labor union.

This week, Bryant indicated Wohl was re-hired at an hourly rate of $18.96, which is lower than the $23.26 rate she received as manager. At press time, it was unclear whether the new pay rate translated into any savings for the city.

Regardless of the final numbers, O’Hara said, he was happy to see Wohl back at work, and happy to have supported her return.

“There is nothing greater for councilors to uphold than public safety,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, Wohl said she would have preferred to have kept her original position, but it felt good to be back, and she was preparing to move forward, offering lessons and other tasks she loves doing.

“I’m a team player,” she said. “I do what I have to do.”

Lisa Wohl is back at the Davan Pool in the Fred C. Wescott
Building. She worked there as a pool manager for 32 years, but was
laid off due to budget cuts. She returned this week as head
lifeguard. (Staff photo by Sean Murphy)