Why are so many public pools closed? WKBW and last updated 2021-06-29 18:17:56-04 BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) â With the Queen City experiencing temperatures in the 90's, many are hoping to spend the day at a public outdoor pool, yet many in the Western New York area are not reopening. A lack of available lifeguards is a main reason many say the pools will remain closed. The Town of Cheektowaga is only able to open one of three public pools in the Town. They say the main reason is that a lack of lifeguards has made staffing incredibly difficult. "We just could not get enough lifeguards to open up all of our pools in the Town of Cheektowaga," Councilmember Brian Pilarski, said, "we usually have 55 lifeguards to get all three pools open and this year we could only get 30 lifeguards."