Fallsnewspress.com - City to bring pools up to new federal standards

Special to Record Publishing Co. Cuyahoga Falls City Council on June 22 approved spending more than $40,000 to bring the Water Works pool into compliance with federal regulations.

by Steve Wiandt

Reporter

Cuyahoga Falls -- To comply with a federal standard for swimming pool and spa drain covers, City Council on June 22 unanimously approved spending more than $40,000 to replace all of the grates in the pool at Water Works Park.

Additional money will have to be spent to bring at least one other city pool in compliance with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, according to a city official, but Water Works will be the most expensive project.

Bill Lohan, superintendent of parks and recreation, said $40,611 will be paid to Creative Design Innovations Inc. of Louisville for the design, manufacture and installation of 70 to 80 feet of pool grates at Water Works. Lohan said Water Works is the biggest piece of a citywide project to bring all public pools in compliance with the federal law.

Lohan noted that even though changes are being made, "all our pools are safe."

Four other companies were contacted for quotes on the Water Works project, Lohan said, but Creative Design Innovations was the only company willing to look at the existing system free of charge, he said. Two companies would have charged up to $8,000 to look at the pool, Lohan said, without any assurance they could come up with a solution.

Another company, one based in Columbus, refused to travel to Cuyahoga Falls to do the work, said Lohan.

Work to install the new grates at Water Works will begin at summer's end, Lohan said.

Installation of new drain covers in the Natatorium pool -- estimated to cost $7,000 -- will take place in mid to late August during the pool's normal annual shutdown for maintenance, he said.

Lohan said work, if needed, will also commence in the fall at the city's six wading pools to bring them up to the same standards as Water Works and the Natatorium. Wading pools are located at the following parks: Indian Mountain, Linden, Lions, Oak, Quirk and Valley Vista.

The drain covers in these six pools, three in each, may be approved as is, said Ed Stewart, assistant superintendent of parks and recreation, or they may need to be refitted to comply.

Stewart noted that costs for work at the Natatorium and the wading pools will not require Council approval because they will be less than $25,000.

Law named after drowning victim

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush on Dec. 19, 2007. The law became effective on Dec. 19, 2008.

The VGB Act established a federal swimming pool and spa drain cover standard to ensure pools are equipped with the proper devices.

The law is named after the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker who drowned in 2002 at the age of 7 in a private swimming pool after getting trapped in the drain on the floor of the pool.

E-mail: swiandt@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3141