State Beaches Keep County Lifeguards for 6 Months : Safety: A $1-million payment will ensure services during the summer. Talks will continue on a long-term solution to the funding dispute.

Los Angeles County lifeguards will continue to patrol state-owned beaches for at least another six months under an agreement approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.

The county had threatened to pull its lifeguards and maintenance crews from eight state-owned beaches, including Manhattan Beach, Malibu and Topanga, by July 1 if the state did not allocate more money to help cover the cost of services.

Under Tuesday’s agreement, the state promised to provide $1 million for beach services in exchange for a six-month extension of its contract with the county.

The agreement does not provide for a long-term funding solution. County and state officials said talks will continue over how much the state will contribute to the upkeep of its beaches. The county estimates that it costs about $4 million to provide lifeguard and cleanup services at the state-owned beaches.

In fact, state officials included wording to the effect that “this one-time appropriation should not be construed to be precedent-setting for future state/county negotiations.”

Nevertheless, with the summer beach crush at hand, county officials were clearly relieved to have the issue resolved, if only temporarily.

“Considering the budget situation in Sacramento, we’re very fortunate to have this agreement,” said Supervisor Deane Dana. “I think they realize that this is saving lives, that they can’t desert the beaches.”

Patricia Megason, deputy director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, said the state decided that it would be unwise to risk disrupting service at the height of the summer season.

“The state is willing (to do) whatever is necessary to protect public safety,” Megason said, “and we felt it would be better not to have a change during this time.”

An impasse over beach funding has been brewing for a number of years, with the cash-strapped county arguing that the state and beach cities must significantly increase their share of beach-related costs. Officials on the other side have been just as adamant in arguing that beaches are used and enjoyed by residents countywide and are a regional responsibility.

Beach supporters, meanwhile, say it would be disastrous to return to the days when city, county and state lifeguards patrolled the beaches within yards of each other in an uncoordinated system that confused authorities and residents.

The county is also asking the cities of Hermosa Beach, Avalon, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles and Santa Monica to pay more for beach costs and has threatened to pull its services from beaches owned or controlled by those cities by April 1 if no agreement is reached.

Sally Reed, county chief administrative officer, said that there has been progress in those negotiations and that the two sides are scheduled to meet again July 21.