Admission Waived at 13 Inner-City Swimming Pools : Recreation: County hopes to ease tensions after complaints about fees and attacks on lifeguards at Will Rogers Park facility. Donations make up lost revenue.

George Delgado, 11, and Darrell Smith, 13, frolicked Wednesday in the cool water of the Will Rogers Park pool in Watts, paying no attention to the business-suited officials preparing to make an important announcement.

George and Darrell had already heard the news and were among the first to take advantage of the fact that the pool would no longer charge children $1 to swim.

“Everybody is happy,” said George, preparing to make a big splash into the water. “Now all my friends can go swimming.”

As he played, Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, flanked by officials from Shell Oil and the Southern California Gas Co., made the announcement that because of corporate donations, Will Rogers and 12 other nearby pools will be free to all for the rest of the summer. She also kicked off a “Save Our Pools” campaign to raise $500,000 to wipe out fees this year at the 14 other county-operated swimming pools.

The campaign, she said, “will ensure that the neediest patrons using our parks will be provided no-cost, free-of-charge access to our pools this summer to swim, take swimming lessons or cool off on hot days.”

The action comes after three recent attacks on lifeguards at Will Rogers. The violence, though not directly linked to the imposition of pool fees, drew attention to neighborhood displeasure with the recently imposed charges of $1 for children and $2 for adults.

In the most serious incident, lifeguard Paul Alba was severely beaten after he tried to protect a 13-year-old boy apparently being hazed by older youths. Alba remains in critical condition at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. Lifeguards have set up a fund for Alba’s family at the county Department of Parks and Recreation, 433 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 90020.

A 16-year-old, described by authorities as a gang member, was arrested last week on suspicion of being involved in another attack on a lifeguard.

Shortly after the incidents, Burke met with several corporate officials and managed to raise nearly $73,000 to rescind the fees--$15,000 from Shell, $10,000 from the gas company and $48,000 from an anonymous individual donor.

“The main purpose is to help kids swim this summer,” Burke said. “We can’t allow a swimming pool to become a war zone.”

Richard D. Farman, chief executive officer for the gas company, said that the company was intrigued by the idea of helping. “There was an immediate need that needed to be filled,” he said. “We said ‘Let’s do it; let’s make it happen.’ ”

More money is still needed to remove the pool fees countywide. The gas company has agreed to help coordinate the campaign, targeting 50 to 100 area businesses.

“A $1 admission fee may not sound like much, but many of these pools are located in low-income neighborhoods where the kids are hard-pressed to come up with a fee,” Farman said. The drive will provide money only for this summer’s fees, he said, adding that next year the county will have to seek a more lasting solution.

Despite the hopeful signs, pool attendance at Will Rogers Park was down dramatically Wednesday, leading some to speculate that the fees and the violence have driven away patrons. Although security has been stepped up, only 100 children came to the pool, which normally attracts 500 swimmers a day.

“People are scared after all the problems,” said a 13-year-old swimmer. Tom Slaughter, an area pool supervisor, said something needs to be done or the summer will be lost.

“It seems people are holding back,” Slaughter said. “This pool should be packed. Maybe the decision to make it free again will help bring the people back.”