The Condo Pool

How is this situation handled in good fashion? The pool closes at a certain hour and no one is supposed to be swimming after 10 pm. If a member or two insist that they wnt to be able to swim at midnight (no partying, just swimming) how can this be allowed?

Norman:

As the old saying goes, if you give them an inch they will take a mile. The board needs to establish rules that are reasonable and for the good of the association. In your case I think setting a closing time of 10:00 pm is more than reasonable and I think you need to stand by your rules.

I think you have your answer.

I agree 100%.

DaneC (and Norman) if the community was owners who had such non-traditional "9-5" jobs there could be reasonable accomodations made. However, if the majority of the dues/assessment paying folks use the pool during the prescribed hours, it also would not be fair to them to have pay increased dues/assessments (staffing, operating the pool during the "off-peak" hours, etc). If the non-traditional owners wanted to have a "night swim" one night out of the week and were willing to pay for this, I think that would be a equitable remedy.

If they are allowed to swim by exemption, what happens to your insurance, if something happens to them in the pool. Who will be responsible? Do you say to the insurance co., sorry they were exempt, but not Mr. Jones because can swim during the day.

Where is the location of the pool? Is it private? Do you normally have "Swim at your own risk?" or have a lifeguard? How is the area controlled during the normal operational hours? The answer to these questions may lead you to either allowing or denying the requests of the 2 residents.

Here is how our pool was setup. The pool was "Swim at your own risk" and was to "close" at 10 PM. However, we never had anyone officially in charge of veryifying the pool was really closed. To close it would require putting chains on the entrance doors EVERY night. No one wanted to volunteer to do that. Plus only I and the pool person had the key to the chain locks.

My issue was that I worked Second shift and got off at 2 AM. Every night I would drive by the pool and verify it was empty. The pool was right behind the Clubhouse in the middle of the neighborhoohd. There was a house directly above the pool area. A few houses were close but not too close. So if there were any violators, someone would go and complain. If it didn't bother them, they would say nothing.

Since it was nearly impossible for us to enforce the 10 PM curfew, we just didn't. However, if it was after 10 pm and the people in the pool were not residents or partying, the person above the pool was instructed to call the police. If the residents were quiet and obeyed the rules and just were out "late" on a nice night, we didn't kick them out. It really depended on the BEHAVIOR of the resident more than the "rule".

The lady who lived above the pool had lot's of stories to tell! I can't tell you how many times we had late night "Skinny dippers". They never caused any problems and MOST NEVER saw them. Plus there were no kids around and the residents do pay for this privilege. I say let the residents use it but make no big deal about it. If everyone is quiet and don't disturb anyone, it should be okay.

LouiseH - The BOD is responsible to ensure the safety and welfare of the residents and guests. If they ignore a known security risk and that is proved, it will not bode well for the association regarding liability.