New Pool Regulations Causing Pool Owners to Struggle
By: Megan Hunter
Updated: April 26, 2012
One required addition
is the chair lift. The chair lifts are mini-cranes, allowing those with
handicaps easy access to the pool. If pool owners don't comply with the new regulations
and install the lifts, they could face stiff fines.
But the lifts aren't
cheap. They can cost nearly $12,000 to install. "If they can document that they
could not financially do that and show documentation (that they couldn't pay
for it) then they would be ok. If not, they will face big fines," said Patrick.
At first, the deadline
to install the lifts was March 16th, but after confusion from pool
owners and clarification from the Justice Department, pool owners now have
until May 21st to get them installed. "It's needed. Physically
handicapped people need to be able to enjoy facilities just as much as anyone
else. That's what this is all about," said Patrick.
Patrick said many pool owners have no problems installing the lifts, but are calling for an extension to the deadline. They say, because of the backlog with the lift company and the high price of pool renovations, the deadline should be extended.
