Keeping Up Appearances
Good housekeeping and maintenance strategies for aquatic centers and other rec facilities
By Kelli Anderson
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY OF WESTMINSTER, COLO. |
In Westminster, Colo., the assistant aquatics manager conducts a routine check of the ozone system. |
Then there's just the benefits of giving the systems and the staff a break. While major changes like carpet replacement or replastering a pool surface take place, a shutdown period gives an opportunity for staff to schedule a vacation, to let their hair down and work together in their grubbies, or to work without the cumbersome hazard concerns that trying to work around patrons can raise.
Although annual shutdowns have their advantages, there are the very real concerns of loss of revenue during that period and the worry that patrons will be too inconvenienced. When possible, shutting down separate systems to do regular maintenance while letting the rest of the facility function is certainly a good thing.
"Some facilities will prefer to do it in phases," Barton acknowledges, "but when we've done it, it's not as effective. We annually resurface our gym floors, which are oil-based, and it causes a lot of fumes and smells— we had a catastrophe one year with a wedding reception when there was a miscommunication."
However, she does know of some facilities that offset the inconvenience to patrons by teaming up and trading off pool usage with another facility in the city or even in a neighboring city.
To help fund the shutdown, it is also essential to budget for it and to have a capital expenditures plan.
"Particularly as a facility gets older," Barton says, "it's one of those things you can plan for in your 10-year capital plan and estimate when this piece of equipment needs to go or when you need to change out water."
As to how long and when a shutdown should occur, it is usually the slowest season that wins the draw, and the duration varies according the level of maintenance needed—as few as two days to a more lengthy two weeks. Facilities try to keep the shutdown time roughly the same each year with additional time added only for bigger once-in-a-while projects like regrouting.
For a 10-year-old fitness facility organization like Life Time Fitness, which has been hitting the market like gangbusters, having an operational plan that includes a faithfully followed maintenance plan helps to keep their facilities unique in the industry.
"We pride ourselves on paying attention to the details," says Mark Brown, senior vice president of operations at corporate headquarters of Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie, Minn. "How we maintain these facilities is absolutely critical, and it's the people that make the difference."
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