I had breakfast this morning with a good friend who owns a couple of hotels. He was pretty upset as he just got word that the DOJ ruling on elevator lifts for pools would be effective tomorrow. Since he is afraid of being sued, he is thinking he will just have to close the pools for now. Description of regulations is here Pool access regulations. A couple of times each year we travel with the grandkids and where we stay sometimes depends on availability of nice pools. Has anyone heard what campgrounds intend to do. Will they spend the money to comply? Close the pool? Ignore? Or maybe the rules do not apply to them. Maybe a campground owner watching this thread can answer.
Semi public pools were exempt and our HOA pool falls into the same semi public rules. We thought we were going to have to comply too, but was advised we are safe from that added expense.
Although I don't have a pool at my campground, I have received several e-mails about this subject from the ARVC (National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds). According to what we are told, Campgrounds ARE included in this mandate. As I understand it, some campgrounds have already purchased portable lift units, but those do not meet the requirements and will have to be permanently fixed in place to be an approved lift. This clarification came six weeks before the March 15 deadline. I have not spoken with any campground owners with pools to see what they are doing to comply with the law.
Having been in the lodging business for a decade before retirement, I have been keeping track of this. The rules have been suspended now for 60 days. They required a fixed lift for each part of the pool. If a hotel had a swimming pool, a kiddie pool, and hot tub. The thought was to have one on wheels, but now the government in their infinite wisdom says you must have a fixed one for each of the 3 units of the pool. Campgrounds are included. When I was in college (Ben Franklin was one of my professors), I worked on the handicapped floor assisting other students for money and they had cranes with cloth seats, winches, and cables. They were not expensive, but this type no longer qualify. The mandated ones are top drawer and I have heard the figure of $60,000, but it sure seems excessive to me. This will close many pools and hot tubs in small businesses including campgrounds. They will make great planters. This certainly seems like a huge over reach on the government's part. What will be next? I know in Florida there are numerous slime ball lawyers who go around looking for minor violation and then file suit in federal court seeking large awards. They end up settling for an average of $5,000 to $10,000. This new law will open up a huge new market for them and get more lawyers into that business. Only in America.
Update on the pool access issue: "The Justice Department on Thursday issued a 60-day stay of execution for hundreds of thousands of public pools which had been required to install ramps and wheelchair lifts by today or else face lawsuits over violating disability laws." (more) Pool-mageddon avoided — for now
So if I were blind and went to the Grand Canyon and could not see it, should it be closed to everyone? Then would Washington tell the Nat. Park you have a problem and you need to fix it. I see 99% of all the pools across the USA will soon be a flower bed. Our government at work! One more side note. We were in a city park in Orland that had ADA bathrooms, no problem. Only problem a person in a wheelchair could never use them due to no sidewalks. You need to move up or down a hill with open land to use them. All three were the same way.
As a park manager, we decided to make the investment. We have purchased one for the pool and one for the hot tub. The total cost for the 2 is $7600. We have had a hand crank lift available for the past 8 years, and it is still in the box. Now, with these 2 lifts affixed at pool edge, our big concern is how are we going to keep children from playing on it. Our pool is a non-lifeguard pool, so staff is not poolside for the 12 hours daily that the pool is open.
QUOTE(Dano2960 @ Mar 17 2012, 01:07 AM) [snapback]29059[/snapback] As a park manager, we decided to make the investment. We have purchased one for the pool and one for the hot tub. The total cost for the 2 is $7600. We have had a hand crank lift available for the past 8 years, and it is still in the box. Now, with these 2 lifts affixed at pool edge, our big concern is how are we going to keep children from playing on it. Our pool is a non-lifeguard pool, so staff is not poolside for the 12 hours daily that the pool is open. Kind of sad that $7600 has to be spent and no one but the company that sold it will get any benefit. I would say that if you haven't needed the hand crank lift for 8 years, the odds of anyone using the new lift would be close to zero. And yes, I bet you do have a major liability issue with the lift being used as a toy. It would be sadly ironic if someone became disabled playing on equipment that you only bought because of some requirement to serve a disabled guest who never visits your park. Could a cover be constructed that would keep children and curious adults from playing with it, and then it could be uncovered only when needed (which will probably be never)?
We are looking at having covers for both. We will also place signage on them threatening loss of pool privileges for anyone observed playing on or with the lift. I have 1 camera directed at the spa lift and will have to get another one directed at the pool lift. All we see at this time is nothing but problems, and that is too bad. The liability issue is a big one.
I have talked to some of my old friends in the lodging business and they are in a panic. You can't buy and get delivery of these units for months. In Florida, the actual enforcement is left up to the counties and there has been a huge difference in interpretation of the rules. A good friend of mine spent $28,000 changing the angle of the sides of his concrete pool from 7 degrees to 11 degrees, which is not even noticeable. In the next county, there are many Inns who have done nothing to comply with commercial pool rules for years and get away with it. I suspect that this sort of thing will continue. Drainage and filtration is much different on commercial pools also.
Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of sleazy lawyers licking their lips (oh, sorry, I'm being reundant, aren't I?) The lawyer in the Miami area who specializes in sending handicapped people out to restaurants and other businesses in order to find the tiniest of infractions is probably packing his Speedo right now and heading out....
