Thousands of public pools in cities and towns nationwide will be taking a fresh look at their safety systems after federal regulators changed course Wednesday on measures required to keep swimmers, especially children, from getting trapped in pool drains.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted 3-2 to revoke guidance it provided pool operators nearly 18 months ago about how to comply with a sweeping 2008 law aimed at preventing drain suction from trapping swimmers under water. The law was passed in response to several horrific child entrapment deaths, including the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker.
The new guidance requires public pools with a single main drain to have a back-up system that could shut the suction of the drain. Previously, they had been told they could use a new "unblockable" drain cover, usually a dome-shaped piece of equipment that covers the drain and prevents someone from getting trapped. The concern is that the "unblockable" drain cover could break, come loose or be improperly installed.
The move means public pools with those single-drain systems would have to buy new and costly back-up systems. Some pools may close if they don't have the new equipment by next May.
The new guidance comes after one of the five commissioners at the agency decided to change his earlier vote on how pools should interpret the law.
After siding last year with the two Republican commissioners, Democrat Bob Adler said Wednesday he has had a change of heart about what Congress intended when it wrote the law.
"My previous interpretation is wrong," Adler said, explaining that he has spent months talking to lawmakers who helped write the law and to industry officials, as well as hearing from parents who lost children in entrapment accidents.
The decision followed nearly two hours of contentious debate among the commissioners at a public meeting.
The overall impact on cities and states is not clear. Neither the CPSC nor the industry could provide figures on how many of the nation's estimated 300,000 public pools and spas have single-drain systems. Bigger pools with multiple drains are not affected by the vote.
Republicans on the commission said the unblockable drain option is safe. They fumed about cities and towns that have spent thousands of dollars re-fitting their pools with new drain covers, and questioned whether the seconds that pass before the back-up system kicks in would come too late to save a child.
They were also critical that the public — states and cities having to comply with the law — did not have a chance to weigh in before Wednesday's meeting.
In the end, public comment will be sought about whether the May 28, 2012, effective date for the changed policy is reasonable. But that did not satisfy Republican Commissioner Nancy Nord, who pressed for more facts before making changes to the agency's position.
"It's like saying we're going to guillotine you, now tell us what day would be convenient," said Nord.
Thomas Lachocki, who heads the National Swimming Pool Foundation, a nonprofit organization that offers safety and educational training for pool operators, says the new agency position will not make children safer and may close pools.
"It doesn't make sense to increase the financial hardship on pools in a very challenging economic time," Lachocki said in an interview. "That could result in a reduction of swim lessons, which results in an increase in drownings."
Between 1999 and 2010, there were about 80 injuries because of pool and hot tub drain entrapments, according to government figures. Twelve fatalities — most of them were children — were reported from 1999 to 2008. No fatalities have been reported in the last three years.
Nancy Baker, who lost her daughter Graeme in 2002 when the child was sucked onto a hot tub drain, says no parent should have to endure the loss and pain she and her family suffered.
Unblockable drains can fail, she said in a letter to the agency. "That is why the law included a provision requiring a back-up system regarding single drain pools, with an understanding that a drain cover would only prevent an accident were it in place and functioning properly."
2011年9月28日星期三
2011年5月10日星期二
Upper Pontalba Building apartments on Jackson Square are in line for higher rents
Residents of the city-owned Upper Pontalba Building on Jackson Square likely will be paying higher rents by midsummer as the agency that manages the historic building attempts to bring leases more in line with market rates in the French Quarter.
At its monthly meeting today, the board of the Upper Pontalba Building Restoration Corp. will consider a staff recommendation to raise monthly rents for all 50 units in the four-story complex, which range from $560 for a 543-square-foot fourth-floor unit to $2,510 for a 1,688-square-foot unit on the second floor.
The increases, which are expected to win board approval, would be the first in about four years. While the bulk of the suggested rent increases falls into the 20 percent to 40 percent range, a couple would rise about 70 percent, with a handful going up 15 percent or less.
The state-owned Lower Pontalba on St. Ann Street and the city-owned Upper Pontalba across Jackson Square on St. Peter Street were built in 1849-51 by Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba. Arguably one of the most desirable parcels in New Orleans, each building consists of 16 four-story townhouses that have commercial tenants on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.
The current Upper Pontalba tenant list features some notable names, including former New Orleans City Councilwoman Suzanne Haik Terrell; former U.S. Rep. Claude "Buddy" Leach, the chairman of the state Democratic Party; Ellis Henican, who co-wrote Sean Payton's memoir about coaching the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl victory; insurance executive John Casbon; and Baton Rouge family court Judge Toni Higginbotham.
But the Pontalba building lacks certain amenities, including parking and security, and some of the units feature less-than-ideal floor plans. The structure also has no handicapped access and no elevator.
'Something for their money'
For more than a decade, the panel of mayoral appointees has raised rents every three years or so, using comparable properties in the Quarter for guidance. A plan to bump up rents by 10 percent across the board was tabled last summer after newly elected Mayor Mitch Landrieu overhauled the membership and the agency's top administrator resigned under fire.
chart-pontalba-051111.jpgView full size
Frank Pizzolato, the new executive director of the French Market Corp. and the Upper Pontalba agency, said he made rent adjustments one of his top priorities after taking over the job in January.
While it's no secret that tenants oppose higher rents, Pizzolato said his agency is legally bound to get fair market value for the city's property.
If the board adopts his plan, Pizzolato said he intends to address longstanding tenants' concerns by reinvesting the extra revenue into security cameras and two full-time positions: a maintenance supervisor and a building manager.
"They're certainly going to get something for their money,'' he said. "This is an old building and this has become an issue of how good a steward we're going to be of the people's property.
"We recognize that this is an incredibly valuable piece of real estate. We can do nothing less than make sure it's maintained properly.''
Pizzolato said he will offer board members two options: one that boosts all rents to levels recommended by a market survey, and another that incorporates the advice of three brokers who said the survey lowballed the value of units with balconies and overestimated the amount renters would pay for other apartments, particularly those on the fourth floor.
The across-the-board increase would raise rents an average 39.2 percent compared with the status quo, and it would generate about $372,000 more annually, assuming the complex is full, records provided by the agency show.
While the change could bring in top dollar, steeper increases also could drive away tenants, Pizzolato said.
"The potential downfall on this is a mass exodus of tenants from the less desirable units and the potential of not being able to fill them at the much higher rents ... resulting in a substantial decrease in revenue," he said.
The other choice, which the French Market staff recommends, "allows us to stay competitive in the market, at the same time generating a good deal more revenue," he said.
At its monthly meeting today, the board of the Upper Pontalba Building Restoration Corp. will consider a staff recommendation to raise monthly rents for all 50 units in the four-story complex, which range from $560 for a 543-square-foot fourth-floor unit to $2,510 for a 1,688-square-foot unit on the second floor.
The increases, which are expected to win board approval, would be the first in about four years. While the bulk of the suggested rent increases falls into the 20 percent to 40 percent range, a couple would rise about 70 percent, with a handful going up 15 percent or less.
The state-owned Lower Pontalba on St. Ann Street and the city-owned Upper Pontalba across Jackson Square on St. Peter Street were built in 1849-51 by Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba. Arguably one of the most desirable parcels in New Orleans, each building consists of 16 four-story townhouses that have commercial tenants on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.
The current Upper Pontalba tenant list features some notable names, including former New Orleans City Councilwoman Suzanne Haik Terrell; former U.S. Rep. Claude "Buddy" Leach, the chairman of the state Democratic Party; Ellis Henican, who co-wrote Sean Payton's memoir about coaching the New Orleans Saints to their first Super Bowl victory; insurance executive John Casbon; and Baton Rouge family court Judge Toni Higginbotham.
But the Pontalba building lacks certain amenities, including parking and security, and some of the units feature less-than-ideal floor plans. The structure also has no handicapped access and no elevator.
'Something for their money'
For more than a decade, the panel of mayoral appointees has raised rents every three years or so, using comparable properties in the Quarter for guidance. A plan to bump up rents by 10 percent across the board was tabled last summer after newly elected Mayor Mitch Landrieu overhauled the membership and the agency's top administrator resigned under fire.
chart-pontalba-051111.jpgView full size
Frank Pizzolato, the new executive director of the French Market Corp. and the Upper Pontalba agency, said he made rent adjustments one of his top priorities after taking over the job in January.
While it's no secret that tenants oppose higher rents, Pizzolato said his agency is legally bound to get fair market value for the city's property.
If the board adopts his plan, Pizzolato said he intends to address longstanding tenants' concerns by reinvesting the extra revenue into security cameras and two full-time positions: a maintenance supervisor and a building manager.
"They're certainly going to get something for their money,'' he said. "This is an old building and this has become an issue of how good a steward we're going to be of the people's property.
"We recognize that this is an incredibly valuable piece of real estate. We can do nothing less than make sure it's maintained properly.''
Pizzolato said he will offer board members two options: one that boosts all rents to levels recommended by a market survey, and another that incorporates the advice of three brokers who said the survey lowballed the value of units with balconies and overestimated the amount renters would pay for other apartments, particularly those on the fourth floor.
The across-the-board increase would raise rents an average 39.2 percent compared with the status quo, and it would generate about $372,000 more annually, assuming the complex is full, records provided by the agency show.
While the change could bring in top dollar, steeper increases also could drive away tenants, Pizzolato said.
"The potential downfall on this is a mass exodus of tenants from the less desirable units and the potential of not being able to fill them at the much higher rents ... resulting in a substantial decrease in revenue," he said.
The other choice, which the French Market staff recommends, "allows us to stay competitive in the market, at the same time generating a good deal more revenue," he said.
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