Pictured is Lakewood Beach, which village officials say will reopen this year. “With all the projects we have, the playground remodel and the Fourth of July, we are in a real festive and positive mood about the summer,” Lakewood Mayor Randy Holcomb said. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

While most are welcoming spring, officials in Lakewood and Mayville already have sights set on the summer season.

Lakewood Mayor Randy Holcomb said the village is looking forward to the summer season with plans to open the beach. He said the village is also excited to welcome back Independence Day festivities.

“We’re very excited about the beach opening this year and having lifeguards,” Holcomb said. “With all the projects we have, the playground remodel and the Fourth of July, we are in a real festive and positive mood about the summer.”

Holcomb said the Lakewood Village Board has approved the advertisement of lifeguarding positions in anticipation of the opening of Lakewood Beach. He said it has been difficult over the past few years to find lifeguards.

“They have to have training before we could have them and we would pay them a competitive wage, which could be minimum or something above that,” he said. “One year we couldn’t find anything. Then, sometimes the beaches were closed up in the north end of the lake and in Lakewood because of the testing of the lake. The beaches were not allowed to be open at certain times. There are a lot of variables, but we felt very positive about it in our meeting.”

Mayville Mayor Ken Shearer said the village also has had trouble in the past finding lifeguards.

“I think everybody across the county I’ve talked to is giving the same answer,” Shearer said.

Shearer said the village is already looking for lifeguards for this summer. Those interested in applying should email him directly at KenShearermayor@gmail.com.

He said village officials are hopeful the beach will be open this year after two years of being closed due to the pandemic.

“We’re planning on it,” he said. “The big thing is getting enough lifeguards.”

Shearer said the village is also planning on hosting its annual summer day camp through the Park Program. He said the programming is still in the works but seems promising. The program is offered to children in kindergarten through ninth grade.

“They do anything from kickball one day to crafts one day or go play mini-golf one day,” he said. “There are different activities for them. We have a director and counselors that do that work. So far we’re getting some applications and people have done some good interviews.”

More information will be made available to the public after the board’s April 5 meeting. Generally, the program runs until the third week in August, Shearer said.