Opening a pool this summer is going to be a quite a headache for New Jersey’s senior and residential facilities if there’s no quick changes to the rules espoused by the Murphy Administration.
On Thursday, state Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) offered a blistering assessment of the Administration’s latest nonsensical regulations.
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“In order to conform to the PRB you have to submit your AFP and CPOPP to the LHA. No idea what the hell all that stands for?!? Welcome to the labyrinthine, Rube Goldberg world of operating a pool in New Jersey!” quipped O’Scanlon who represents a substantial chunk of Monmouth County, a top summer tourist destination. “Once you slog through the 48 pages of executive orders that apparently somehow apply, you then have to deal with the 11 pages of the NJCP&ARF standards (New Jersey COVID-19 Pools and Aquatic Recreation Facility Standards). Those pages contain more than 100 paragraphs, items and bullet points.”
“Don’t have a “pool director” who has taken the appropriate online course work or a “pool ambassador” or temperature checks, properly competed staff questionnaires, reservation systems, limited hours, sign-in sheets, lines of demarcation on your pool deck, or, heaven forbid, your BLC (bather load calculation) is off?!? YOU’RE BREAKING THE RULES!” O’Scanlon added.
Regulations include bathroom monitoring, frequent daily cleanings, and a mandatory “pool ambassador.”
“A pool ambassador! Are you kidding me? What qualifications do you need to be a pool ambassador?” asked O’Scanlon. “These kinds of nonsensical burdens will only ensure pools will remain unfilled and locked up for another summer. It is bureaucracy run amok.
The Murphy Administration’s regulations even require pools to designate a “COVID-19 Emergency Care Room” A. Designate COVID-19 Emergency Care Room “for the care of those who become ill while on-site.”
Earlier Thursday, the State Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee voted to give both senior citizen communities and planned communities legal immunity, but the immunity would be restricted to institutions in full compliance.
“The bill passed today (S-3584) provides immunity for those who follow all the rules to the letter, which is virtually impossible,” continued O’Scanlon. “The CDC has stated there is no evidence COVID can be spread in water, and there is overwhelming evidence that is not spreading outdoors or from surface contact.
“Volunteer board and association members are rightfully petrified that somebody could sue them for not following a rule that doesn’t make any sense. Because of the Murphy administration rules, opening pools will open them to risks that they shouldn’t have to accept.”
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