Facilities Updates

We’ve had the deck chairs refreshed with new strapping, purchased new lane lines, and will soon have a pool lift that will allow swimmers with disabilities to access the water.  Pool Manager John Aldonas replaced the filtering medium in our pump room, and the water is clearer than ever.  The bathrooms have been repainted and some necessary upgrades and repairs have been made or identified for future work. Many thanks to Julie Smith and Sam Alexander for organizing and executing our spring clean up, because the garden areas look awesome.
We also are discussing both more extensive improvements to the bathhouse and necessary emergency egress improvements to the community house.  Last month, Michael McMahon and Matt Long led an excellent presentation that you can watch online.

Alcohol at the Pool

Our discussions last year led us to conclude that the then-current state of Virginia law did not permit alcohol to be consumed on our premises without a license. We explored licenses for both the Community House and the general membership and, during the off-season, required anyone renting the Community House to obtain the appropriate license for any alcohol being served.

Earlier this year, the Virginia Assembly recognized the same legal prohibition and moved to change the law to allow alcohol consumption at private pools without additional permits.  The legislature passed and the governor signed H.R. 1520, which permits any private swim club operated by a nonprofit association to allow members to bring and consume their own alcoholic beverages on the premises starting July 1.

Please know we are working on what happens after July 1.  Our current insurance carrier has said that it will not cover occurrences relating to alcohol, which leaves the association exposed to liability.  We do know that other Northern Virginia pool associations have insurance coverage that permits members to bring their own alcohol to the club, so we are evaluating those carriers and will have an update soon.
Note: This message also was sent to members via email on Saturday, May 12.