WELLS — The town is considering hiring foreign workers as lifeguards this summer due to difficulties filling the seasonal positions.

Town Manager Jonathan Carter said in a phone interview

Thursday that Wells has about 25 seasonal lifeguard positions at its beaches, and only about 15 of those are filled.

Carter said the town has contacted an agency that sponsors J-1 visa workers, and is considering using J-1 students to fill empty slots on the lifeguard squad.

In recent years, the town has had difficulty filling all the open positions, as it’s competing not only with other municipalities, but with private pools and water parks, Carter said.

Carter said another problem is finding lifeguards who can work through the entire season, which ends in early September. Many lifeguards are college students who return to school before the season ends, and high school students who are often involved in school sports and have to leave in August to attend training.

“It leaves you in a lurch,” said Carter.

One of the advantages of using foreign workers is that they would be available for the whole season, he said.

Many restaurants, hotels and resorts in Wells and other coastal towns rely on international students who come to the country on J-1 visas for seasonal jobs.

Should the town decide to use foreign workers, those selected would have training in their home countries, and would receive additional training through the town, Carter said.

The recruitment program includes assistance in finding housing. A proposal to use a town-owned home was shot down by the town select board in a preliminary discussion earlier this week.

Carter said the building was acquired to make room for increased space at the police station, but has since been shuttered. Selectmen were concerned about the cost of reopening the home, he said.

Difficulty in finding lifeguards is a problem faced by many coastal communities.

“It most certainly is something we all kind of grapple with,” said Biddeford Recreation Director Carl Walsh, who oversees the city’s lifeguard program.

Walsh said municipalities will often contact each other to see if there were any good candidates left over after the hiring process who might be interested in working in a neighboring community.

Walsh said there is often “a skeleton crew” at the end of the season in Biddeford, and lifeguards may have to be pulled from less-crowded beaches to staff busy areas.

Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief Ricky Plummer, who oversees the town’s lifeguard program, said the town is fortunate enough to have about eight or nine lifeguards, many of whom are teachers, who return every year.

Still, filling all 30 available lifeguard positions in OOB can be a challenge, he said. At the end of the season, the town may close stations at quieter spots on the beach, as some lifeguards have gone back to school.

“We have trouble filling all the slots, but we always do it. It’s just not easy,” Plummer said.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.