Covid-19 Reopening - Pool and Clubhouse

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Further, our pool and clubhouse are not monitored so maintaining the 20% capacity would be difficult. Who would be responsible for the sanitation of bathrooms, doors, gates, tables, chairs, etc? If we should provide hand sanitizer, the stuff is nearly impossible to get.

I guess my question is, what should we do considering the guidelines which are not mandatory (so I do not see a legal liability issue here) yet still want to keep our members as safe as we reasonably can.

All help appreciated.

Bill

I don't see a problem. None of the other states are following CDC Guidelines. This whole thing was screwed up from day one.

They still needed to close because protecting the community.

CDC define HOA pools as "public" in this COVID-19 context.

We, Bill, are a 200+ urban high rise HOA and are talking about how we'll deal with repairing our pool, jacuzzi & gym. I just happened to look at those CDC guidelines today. I don't know what our local Health Dept. might issue when the time comes. some of the CDC suggestions aren't practical especially about complete sanitizing of a lot of such-areas &, say poolside furniture, frequently. We do have usodians but they can't' spend all their time in our gym, pool area & locker/restrooms.

Our pool doesn't get a whole lot of use. We have a few regular lap swimmers and then there are social g groups, though not many, on weekends.

For the pool area, our thinking at the moment is we won't permit guests, only residents; only two in the spa at a time, who must wear face coverings. So to not worry about constantly cleaning of pool furniture,, we may remove all or most of it, or tape it so not available. The pool, in other words, would be used for exercise; sun bathing, hanging out in groups, etc would be discouraged. This is how our local beaches are at present.

Everyone agrees the chlorine makes the pool water safe--it's all the other tech surfaces that need care. Are you saying Bill, that in your hOA you have no safe that keeps the pool & restrooms clean at all??

To start, the member who said do nothing is a dingdong. The board is responsible for ensuring the common areas and amenities are managed properly, and that means adopting policies to help reduce the association's liability.

How would this member react if people began using the pool and didn't follow social distancing, and a bunch of residents wind up testing positive? You know at least half of them would turn around and sue the association for not doing anything to reduce the risk of infection. It's bad enough people let their toddlers hop in the pool without swim diapers or take a quick shower before and after using the pool. Good Lord, the longer this pandemic goes on, the stupider some people get!

End of rant - Now here's one person's suggestions.

Assuming the pool hasn't opened yet, it may be helpful to conduct a homeowner pool to see if people are even planning to use the community pool. Since we don't know how long COVID 19 will continue, perhaps this may be the year the pool doesn't open at all. If a significant number say they're not planning to use it, you can keep it closed this season

If you do decide to open it, you could use a combination of the state and CDC guidelines, such as reducing capacity, shortening hours of operation, hiring a few people to wipe down surfaces periodically (which may increase operating costs), require everyone to bring their own had sanitizer, and so on. I would also provide information on the state and CDC guidelines so people know the board's decision is based on public health information.

As the season goes on, you can monitor how well the policies are work and tweak as necessary. You might also want to contact the local parks department to see what they're doing with public polls as well some of their po!icies.

Government directives or recommendations to sanitize chairs, tables, etc. after every use will be financially catastrophic to small HOA's who have no on-site manager, lifeguard, staff, etc..

The below is from davis-stirling.com newsletter of today. The firm is an CA HOA legal firm. Some of these tips might be helpful.
" Senior communities will be most vulnerable, so they will want to take special precautions such as installing sanitizer dispensers at key points around the clubhouse, handing out masks to anyone who does not have one, spacing out furniture to ensure social distancing, removing chairs and small tables where people might want to play cards or assemble puzzles, regularly wiping down surfaces, propping open doors so people don't have to touch handles (don't prop open fire doors), putting signs on elevator and restroom doors limiting the number of people in each, budgeting more money for thorough cleaning each night (instead of just picking up trash), installing higher grade air filters, not supplying coffee or other drinks that require people to touch the same surfaces. Some might want to take the temperature of people entering their clubhouse. There may be other measures appropriate to particular clubhouses that boards will want to implement."

I think without careful "contact tracing" it would be impossible for anyone to claim "I was infected at that pool because there's no chance I could have been infected anywhere else".

I also think there will be a boatload of litigation in the near future once the immediate crisis is past. I've seen suggestions that some in Washington, DC, want to hold harmless businesses from lawsuits that claim they're to blame for certain exposures to the virus, whether due to negligence or not. I wouldn't be surprised to see that lawsuit immunity come to pass and be applied retroactively. Time will tell.

They are in the process of preventing lawsuits from occurring in these types of situations. Too many possibilities would just overwhelm the legal system.

They say the sunlight and heat kills the virus. A pool and it's furniture is subject to both. Natural UV light. Plus you don't get the virus from "eating/swallowing" it. You get it from breathing in the particles or touching your face after touching a surface droplets have fallen on. It should have a shorter life out in the sunlight. It's when people are talking to each other closely is more risky.

Many of our touch surfaces in the pool area are not in a lot or sun or all day. They also, of course, aren't in the sun at night, when some folks use our jacuzzi.

I think, like Ben, we'll make sure our residents know the pool commonly-touched items--gates, handrails to pool, jacuzzi timer, will be sanitized once a day, as they basically were before we closed them. I can't see staff sanitizing ever piece of poo side furniture, though, so that's why I think we'll have a lot of it removed. A bigger issue is sanitizing the locker rooms' toilets & sinks & touch-surfaces.

I don't know this: If pools are open must there be nearby restrooms?? Might vary from state to state or municipality to municipality?

Thanks to everyone for your input and responses. They have been very helpful.

In the end we have decided to keep our pool, clubhouse and playground closed. Our attorney advised that even if you put a sign at the entry points that says "ENTRY IS AT YOUR OWN RISK OF CORONAVIRUS EXPOSURE" we would still have liability issues in any litigation brought against us. While proof of where the virus was contracted would be difficult, the cost of defending ourselves could be in the tens of thousands of dollars. The Association would have to pay those expenses out of its own revenues or special assessment since liability insurances generally exclude pandemics.

If you open, your board of directors should direct the necessary funding for all sanitation supplies as well as the "employees" needed to enforce social distancing and to provide per-use sanitation of chairs, restrooms. Without clearly defined legal liability protections (like is offered, traditionally, through the posted pool safety signs), this is a tough spot and your decision as a board. Pool users will not adhere to the guidelines in the aggregate sense.

I don't see true liability protection in my state but the community, thankfully and at present, doesn't think opening is wise just yet.

Generally, if your pool doesn't traditionally have pool attendants or management as part of normal management, think three times before opening.

Pat,

The discussion about pool reopenings will likely begin on May 22, 2020, when "Phase 2" of the NC Governor's Executive Order is scheduled to begin implementation.

An attendant-free pool that opens and must rely on user self-management is not a reasonable operational burden. Most HOAs don't have unbudgeted funds to simply hire and attendant as the goa since we must balance revenue w/ expenses and keep dues increases to a minimum.

Honestly, our HOA would rather be sued for not opening the pool than face a lawsuit based on accusations that our pool opening caused someone to contract COVID-19. We need defined rules and signage that protects HOAs and articulates personal responsibility.

Hi Bill,

These guidelines should be taken seriously - the last thing you want is an outbreak in your community. There is a reasonable expectation that the association will take steps to keep community members safe and healthy. There needs to be rules in place if you're going to open the pool, and the board will have to do its best to ensure those rules are followed.

It's a very big community, so you could even consider keeping the pool closed this summer. I know that isn't something anyone wants, but it may be the smartest option.

Your pool certificate/inspection/license will state what kind of pool you have.
Ours specifically states PUBLIC POOL TYPE B.

Don’t mix up pool construction and standard “code” with pool usage “access.”

I agree. This post is confusing.

Looking at what is required of restaurants and whats being anticipated of gyms and public pools with the staffing, we just may forgo opening our pool this season. The cost would just be out of budget.