The Highcroft pool is the centerpiece of our community. It not only provides a valuable outlet for exercise and fun, but it is also our neighborhood’s social center. As the 2007 swim season wraps up, we should reflect on the lessons we learned this summer and start preparing for next summer. The pool opened on May 19th to the great excitement of its many users. The 120+ member swim team began preparing for their swim season in which they compiled a record of 3 and 2. We held a few neighborhood parties including a frog jumping contest and a National Night Out celebration. There has been plenty of great swim weather this year, and the pool offered a pleasant respite when temperatures soared.
Despite the positive aspects of this summer, we have also seen a number of days in which the pool could not be used. The cause of these outages ranged from mechanical failure (a pump failure) to mischief (a week long closure caused by intruders introducing broken glass into the pool) to accidents (at least 4 fecal contamination incidents). These incidents have caused monetary expenditures in excess of $6000 and over 2 weeks in days the pool has been unusable by the community.
In response to these incidents, a group of concerned residents formed the Highcroft Pool Committee (HPC). The committee had its initial meeting on August 5th, after which we sought formal recognition from the HOA board. We received that recognition on August 13th. One of our initial tasks was to draft a set of community rules that were to augment the county and state rules that are posted at the gate. This set of rules is attached to this report and we encourage the HOA board to approve these rules effective for the 2008 swim season. We have also discussed improvements to the pool and its management, and that is the purpose of this report.
Our Goals
The goal of the HPC is to assist the HOA board with matters regarding the pool. As we are not elected by the community, we have no authority to expend funds, enact rules or policy, or take action against those who violate pool rules and policy. Our primary purpose is to make recommendations to the board in those respects.
A common criticism of pool management to date has been the lack of effective communications. Residents feel there is no good outlet to voice their concerns and opinions. Further, the communication mechanisms that the HOA board and Omega use to contact the community are underutilized, cumbersome and inefficient. Improvement to communication is another goal of the HPC. The HPC will act as the primary communication conduit for pool related matters in both directions.
In order to effectively act in these capacities, the HPC must be included in pool related actions and decisions.
Proposed Rules
The proposed rules are presented in an attached document, along with a proposed cover letter that will accompany the rules. In making these rules, we consulted county and state regulations, we reviewed pool rules from other communities and we discussed the specific requirements of the Highcroft pool. We encourage the HOA Board to approve these rules and send them out with the soon-to-be-released annual meeting announcement.
Further we suggest that the approach to enforcement should be incremental based on need. At this time we do not recommend hiring attendants or lifeguards, rather pool users should be encouraged to self-police better. The establishment of these rules is essential to that approach. If this approach does not work, we will revisit the need for an attendant or even a lifeguard.
Recommendations
Recommendations are summarized in table 1.
- Safety and Hygiene. One of our primary concerns is reducing the risk of disease through fecal contamination. You will see from our rules that the issue played heavily. Of primary importance is keeping individuals with the potential to infect out of the pool entirely. Of secondary importance is ensuring children who are not potty trained are protected against accident through the use of BOTH a swim diaper AND plastic swim pants.
- Recommendation #1 (High) - Signage at the pool to emphasize the importance of not swimming with diarrhea and ensuring children wear swim diapers and plastic pants.
- Recommendation #2 (High) - Diaper changing stations should be provided in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. Soiled diapers should not be changed on the deck as stated in the rules. Estimated cost: $170 - $250 each.
While having rules regarding proper hygiene is required, we believe that a “campaign” is necessary to promote understanding of the dangers of fecal contamination. Accompanying our rules will be information from the CDC regarding this issue. - Security. The need for additional security measures at the pool was emphasized this summer when a group of individuals entered the pool area after dark and threw glass bottles into the pool. This incident alone caused us to drain the pool, incurred significant cost and took the pool away for a week during the peak of summer activity. There have been several other minor incidents at the pool that involve late night activity. While it is generally recognized that individuals will find a way into the pool if they are sufficiently motivated, the Highcroft pool is not particularly hard to get enter and the motivation required is not that great. The current residential grade 4 foot fence is simple to scale and the gate is frequently unsecured because it does not shut properly. Additionally, it is believed that a number of non-residents/non-guests use the pool during the daylight hours. We do not know the scale of this particular problem, but we believe that this problem will only get worse if not addressed.
To our knowledge, the HOA board has already approved the following:- A new gate
- Motion sensing lights
- A security camera that will be donated by Jeff King
If these improvements do not prove to be sufficient, we believe that further measures should be taken to prevent unauthorized access to the pool.- Recommendation #3 (high to moderate/as required) - The existing fence should be replaced with a 6 foot commercial grade fence. The anticipated cost of this is ~$15,000; however the price can be lowered if we consider selling the old panels or even taking down the old fence ourselves. We are sure that we could get a number of volunteers from the neighborhood especially with the promise of a “barn-raising” style party to follow. This is recommended if current/planned measures do not sufficiently prevent unauthorized entry.
- Recommendation #4 (moderate/as required) - The new gate should be equipped with a card entry system. This will greatly increase our flexibility with respect to controlling access to the pool. Among other things, a card entry system can be programmed to close the pool at night, to exclude members for various reasons, and to better track use. It should also be noted that without implementing a higher perimeter fence, the effectiveness of a card entry system will be diminished. Estimated cost: ~ $4000 (plus $6 per card and $40 recurring monthly admin fee).
- Communications. We feel that the HOA needs to address communications for the community as a whole. We want the community to contact to the pool committee rather than the HOA Board or Omega with feedback and issues regarding the pool. This provides a “one stop” means of communicating about the pool and will be less confusing to residents. The only exception to this is in the case of fecal incidents and other time-critical maintenance issues, when we recommend contacting the pool management company directly to expedite correction. We have published our contact information in the pool rules with the intent of collecting this information. Tracking and ensuring issues are properly handled will be the responsibility of the HPC.
- Recommendation #5 (High) - Direct all pool related issues to the pool committee. Bring the pool committee up to date on any pool related issues or agreements that existed prior to the formation of the committee.
The pool committee will often need to communicate with the community at large. We propose a number of mechanisms to assist in that communication.- Recommendation #5 (High) - Direct all pool related issues to the pool committee. Bring the pool committee up to date on any pool related issues or agreements that existed prior to the formation of the committee.
The pool committee will often need to communicate with the community at large. We propose a number of mechanisms to assist in that communication.- A web presence. The pool committee should have a dedicated web page or pages for the purpose of making announcements and providing a clearinghouse for information. This page may be a dedicated web site, but we would prefer to be part of a larger Highcroft community web site. The web site should allow for the easy upload of information by the pool committee.
- An Email list. We would like for residents to be able and encouraged to subscribe to an email list over which they can receive announcements and material when it is released. This would not be a discussion board, but would only allow community leadership to communicate with the community at large. The list would be maintained by residential address so the pool committee would know who should be contacted by an alternative means when critical announcements are made.
- Better use of block captains. We feel that the block captain framework that is currently in place is underutilized. This can be used to contact residents who have not subscribed to the email list when important announcements are made.
- A newsletter. The HPC should either produce a quarterly newsletter or contribute to a community newsletter. The newsletter would provide educational content and information about events, rules and policy.
- A Bulletin Board at the pool. A bulletin board should be installed at the pool to serve as a central repository for announcements. The board should be covered with plexiglass and should be large enough to allow for announcements and signage for the pool committee, the swim team and the HOA at large.
- Recommendation #6 (High) - The HOA Board should form a communications committee that will build and update a website, produce a newsletter, maintain an email address list and make announcements on behalf of the Board and the Highcroft HOA committees, including the pool committee.
- Recommendation #7 (High) - The HOA Board should approve the purchase or construction of a bulletin board for installation at the pool. We already have a volunteer from the neighborhood who will construct one for the cost of material, estimated to be around $150.
- Other Infrastructure Improvements and maintenance. The pool committee has discussed a number of infrastructure improvements over the past month:
- Replacement of bathroom sink and shower fixtures with self closing faucets that will shut themselves off if they are left unattended. Estimated Cost: $500 + labor
- Restrapping of chase lounges. Over the past few years most of the chase lounges we have been severely discolored. Dori, from Chase, explained that this is due to the use of sunless tanning products. The staining cannot be taken out and the chairs should be restrapped to address this issue. Estimated Cost: $1400
- New umbrellas. A number of umbrellas are bent or do not function properly. They should be replaced with higher quality umbrellas. Estimated Cost: $600
- Emergency pump shutoff button cover. The cutoff button is exposed and low enough for children to access it. A cover will reduce the risk of having the pump inadvertently shutoff. Estimated cost: $40
- Wading/baby pool. Not only would a wading pool would be a great asset for our youngest residents, but according to Wake County Hygiene and Recreation officials would cut down on the number of fecal incidents in our existing pool. The estimated cost of this project would be around $24,000.
- Recommendation #8 (High) - Items a, b, c, and d should be approved and completed before the 2008 swim season begins.
- Recommendation #9 (Moderate) - A survey should be conducted to assess the interest in possible recreational improvements to the pool. Communicate results of survey to community.
Conclusion
The members of the pool committee are excited about the opportunity to have a positive impact on their community. Our goal is to make our pool into a safe and inviting place for Highcroft residents of all ages. We look forward to working with the board, Omega, and Chase to ready the pool for the summer of 2008.
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