AUBURN — The Lake Auburn Outlet Beach swimming area is scheduled to reopen to the public Monday — without geese and without lifeguards.

“We’ve had calls and emails from numerous people and it’s obvious they want it open,” Ravi Sharma, director of Parks and Recreation, said. “The feeling is people really do like it, so we’ve done what we can to accommodate them and get it reopened.”

Budget cuts forced the city to close the beach two years ago. Auburn has no public swimming pool and the beach is one of the few public swimming holes. Swimming is not allowed in Lake Auburn because it is the city’s water supply. The beach is on the outlet between the lake and the Androscoggin River, so swimming has been allowed.

Since it was closed, the beach was taken over by flocks of geese, which made a mess of the area. State wildlife officials relocated the geese last month. Sharma said his staff had been working since then to get the beach cleaned up.

“We’ve dragged the sand and picked up the trash and inspected the playground,” he said. “We’re just going through with a more detailed eye right now, making sure it’s ready to go. We even had the water quality tested, and it seems fine.”

Sharma said his budget does not include money for lifeguards. It would take an estimated $20,000 for three to staff the beach for the summer. Instead, the beach will be posted as a “Swim at your own risk” beach, with signs warning swimmers that no lifeguards will be on duty.

“I do have concerns about that, but our only choices were to not open at all or to open as a swim-at-your-own-risk beach,” Sharma said. “The latter just seems to be the better choice right now.”

The outlet beach will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, seven days per week, through Labor Day.

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