Daily Log Entries — Operations — November 2008
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
OnC
"Sleep is merely an eight hour hot air balloon journey that is seldom productive"
2:48 A.M. Arrived and entered the community from Lambert Road entrance. Drove through the city streets and observed no apparent lighting problems, and no parking violations, except at (deleted) Mountain Ct. Will advise Barbara concerning my observation at that address.
2:59 A.M. Opened office and deactivated alarm. Checked eMails, and no voice messages present on main line. At day's end yesterday for Barbara and the men, Juan mentioned that one worker gave notice of his intent to leave employment here due to his wife taking ill in Mexico, and his need to return there and provide assistance. His last day worked is expected to be 15 December. I shall plan to use a third party interpreter to interview this man to learn more concerning his plans, and to perhaps see if all else is well at his present job here. He is a more highly valued worker than some, though for the most part he has worked mostly in landscaping. However, he will start today to work on two planned roof replacements on Wagonwheel, since in recent past, he has worked on roofs, and assisted with some fascia replacements. He attended the meeting I held with the roofers yesterday morning. Inspected family pool area and restrooms. Fallen umbrella was removed and replaced to its original position, though I did not receive feedback on damage assessment as I requested yesterday. All else unremarkable.
3:07 A.M. Daily Planning
Office: Begin new weekly employee daily time log. Check messages on other two secondary phone message recordings. Attempt to verify if A/C was removed from flat roof on Wagonwheel to facilitate flat roof replacement. Continue with organization and planning for corporate reports as time permits.
Operations: Insure that roofers post city building permit inspection card, along with ladder for inspector to use at the newly completed two roof replacements along Scenic Way. I shall inspect roof prior to the inspector's arrival. Prepare to receive truck delivery of 1,000 sq. ft. of sod. Petty cash check written and available to make payment upon delivery. Meet with Foreman to quantify number of workers for sod install. Remind him that primarily, the majority of sod shall be installed at the Surry Ct./Country Lane area, but some sod must be conserved for use in patching small areas in the Scenic Way green belt area facing Live Oak street. In the event those two goals are met, and any remaining sod shall be placed along the front of the 300 block of Mountain Ct., facing State College.
Maintenance: Organize and direct sloped and flat roof workmen to begin placement of hot roofing asphalt kettle machine at subject property address on Wagonwheel Cir. Begin work on small wood roof tear-down at that location, and immediately begin with fascia replacements. Fascia boards were measured and purchased last week in advance for this job , and brought to the yard. They were primed yesterday at the yard, and will be ready for install today. Continue work on adult pool restroom #1.
3:30 A.M. Shall draft and send Board Memo concerning one idea to consider at adult pool restrooms.
3:52 A.M. Board Memo written and sent. Copy follows:
Board Memo, 18 November 2008
RE: Adult Pool restroom remodeling and repair project
Work at the men’s restroom, restroom #1, is nearly complete. We shall now identify a suitable source and contract for the counter top and built-in sinks for that restroom as soon a possible. The urgency exists because until we have that restroom and the two sinks functional, we cannot remove the countertop and sinks in restroom #2, for if we did, we would have to close that pool altogether since the county requires a fully operational restroom during times when pools are open. It remains unknown if a unisex restroom is acceptable.
Here is my assessment and one idea. I will have to check with the county to verify my idea is legal.
First, my assessment: As a general rule, the adult pool is visited by far fewer pool users all year than the family pool area is. Ironically, each of the two restrooms (men/women’s) at the family pool are only one quarter the size of each of the restrooms at the adult pool. Thus, if legal, we may desire to consider the following option.
Idea: Perhaps we can only provide one large restroom at the adult pool that could be a unisex restroom – restroom #1 – fitted with an inside lock, perhaps one that has an indicator on the outside facing door that reads occupied when it is locked, and in use, or vacant when it’s not locked.
Benefits: Huge labor and material cost reduction if we do not have to remodel the second restroom. In addition, that room – restroom #2, could be used for storage of pool chemicals, and/or any other maintenance parts and equipment we desire safe, dry storage for. Perhaps others will think of an idea in this regard as well. It also reduces the near daily need to clean and restock two restrooms, instead of one.
Let me know your thoughts, end — Rob Sackett
4:03 A.M. Left office briefly to get java from 7-11.
4:12 A.M. Returned safely with hot java in hand.
4:15 A.M. Drafted and sent Board Memo concerning recently received information on costly federal swimming pool compliance issues. Copy follows: Board Memo sent at 4:47 A.M.
18 November 2008, 4:47 A.M.
Re: New Federal Swimming Pool Law and Compliance Conundrum
Our stellar Executive Committee Member Doug Suman kept his promise to research status on federal public pool compliance law and mandate.
Doug reported back to me that following his inquires with other fellow pool maintenance contractors, and most notably after reviewing one notable pool industry trade newspaper, he learned the following: Currently, the County of Orange has no mandate to enforce federal pool regulations, and they are attempting to avoid doing so, and remain less interested in doing so in the future. However, this is not to say that, if a death or injury occurred at a public pool, it would not be viewed dimly by a plaintiff's attorney when that lawyer becomes aware that federal mandates were not complied with at the subject pool. Therein lies the conundrum.
Doug did learn that there may be two alternate possibilities to circumvent the mandate for the costly requirement of installing double bottom pool drains, and I had heard about one of these during consultations with some contractors specializing in this area, specifically, the vacuum breaker equipment option:
1. The removal altogether of the existing bottom pool drain, thus eliminating the potential of a swimmer becoming held down by the suction of a bottom drain. It is generally believed, and I hope to verify that no bottom drain is legally required by any of the various jurisdictions.
2. There is apparently a piece of equipment available that might be installed in the pump and equipment rooms that works as a vacuum breaker, and when such vacuum velocity is increased over a set limit, as the circumstance of someone being held by the suction of a bottom drain, the vacuum breaker electronically deactivates the bottom drain - taking it off line, and diverting the balance of suction to the skimmers. This equipment apparently meets the new federal mandate for protection. Obviously, this equipment and install cost would be vastly less than cutting in to the pool shell to install a second drain.
As straight forward as this new information may be, it is still subject to the confusing information we have received from other "experts" in this field. However, I shall attempt to investigate these and any other possibilities as resources are discovered, and as time permits.
The main concern for anyone in this predicament remains the difficult task of discerning whether contractor "experts" in this field are attempting to profit from the larger expense of installing double drains, or if some of their statements on fitting the pump rooms with vacuum breaker equipment, which they suggest may be problematic due to on-going equipment maintenance, and/or equipment failure issues, or to NOT ignore the new federal mandate until it is enforced by the county is prudent advise. Simply stated, who knows.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to Doug for his timely actions and diligence by his numerous research efforts for the benefit of our community!
end — Rob Sackett
5:07 A.M. Performed another drive through of the community. Truck still parked behind garage at (deleted) Mountain Ct. in violation of parking rules, will advise Barbara. Nothing else remarkable noted.
5:38 A.M. Returned to office. Work continues on budget and reserve for near future inclusion in, and mailing of corporate report.
7:00 A.M. Barbara and all men present and accounted for, except for three taking vacations. Reviewed daily office plan with Barbara, and daily plan with Juan, Maintenance Foreman. Just learned that A/C man is removing A/C from flat roof on Wagonwheel. Instructed Juan to begin on sloped roof first, and to send man to kettle storage area to ignite kettle burners, and gradually bring up temperature, in preparation for moving the kettle to job site. Man is to remain and carefully monitor temperature.
8:34 A.M. City Building Department telephoned to say that final inspection on Scenic Way roofs cannot be accomplished today, and said they would perform the inspection tomorrow instead. Notified Juan.
8:40 A.M. Status Update Drove to Scenic Way roofing project. Minor cosmetic work still in progress. Drove to Surry Ct. area. Work on soil preparation and final grading in progress, nearly completed. Sod delivery still pending. New server being installed at office, work still in progress. Bermuda grass eradication in progress in bare soil along front of 300 Block Mountain Ct. in preparation for new lawn install in near future, not no date yet.
9:14 A.M. Left premises for one hour lunch.
9:50 A.M. Returned to office. The sod was delivered and is more than half installed at this time.
10:08 A.M. Status Update Received a call back from the county pool plan checker. Here's what I learned in response to the questions I posed: 1. Bottom drains are mandatory for commercial pools. 2. As to unisex rest rooms for commercial pools, the plan checker looked up the 1970 code which applies to our 1972-1976 pools, and unfortunately, unisex rest rooms are not approved. 3. Vacuum Valve: I did inquire about that issue. However, since the county does not currently have a mandate to enforce, they will not comment on alternatives such as the one mentioned.
10:36 A.M. Status Update Checked on sod install at Surry Ct. facing Country Lane. That area is soded now and irrigation is being applied. It required 700 sq. ft. of the 1,000 delivered. We shall continue around the corner as sod inventory permits.
11:15 A.M. Left the premises. OfC
12:45 P.M. Returned to office. OnC
12:55 P.M. Status Update Checked Surry Ct. sod project. Project completed and sod also pieced in in small areas on Scenic Way and Live Oak. Sloped and flat roof tear-downs at (deleted) Wagonwheel Cir. — Sloped roof removed, flat roof removal in progress. Scenic roof replacements finished, and final inspection tomorrow. Adult pool restroom #1: molding is painted, and room is ready for contractors to bid on countertop replacement. New office server connected, and most all components function, except for one printer. Tech went to obtain printer driver.
1:25 P.M. Received telephone call from resident at (deleted) Timberline. Reported blinking pole light near front of home, end of street. Will restore today. Notified Juan.
2:02 P.M. Located and contacted two separate Corian counter top fabricators and installation contractors. Appointments expected in next couple of days. Time for fabrication once contract signed: 5 to 7 days. Our men will install plumbing hardware for two sinks following top install.
2:15 P.M. Met with one counter top fabricator and installer. Took him to adult pool, he measured both counter tops (one at each of two restrooms) and will fax quote soon. One down, one to go. The counter tops shall be Corian with two molded-in sinks, and coved back-splash on three sides. Will also have bull nose along front of counter.
2:50 P.M. Returned to office.
2:55 P.M. Received telephone call from landscape contractor servicing the WF community concerning irrigation water main break at Blue Ridge Street. Authorized repairs of approximately $300.
3:17 P.M. Status Update The flat roof on Wagonwheel is half removed. Leakage appears to have originated where flat roof intersects with sloped roof. Also, numerous ship-lap starter boards at the eave of sloped roof require replacement along with some fascias. Work shall continue tomorrow promptly.
3:39 P.M. Still here with computer tech who is just finishing the server install - it's been more difficult because of coordinating Barbara's home terminal with our server, and different printers, some of which are only utilized to print checks and have magnetic toner cartridges for that purpose.
4:02 P.M. Leaving for the day.