04/04/2020
Good Afternoon,
I hope this email finds you and your family well. I have spoken to numerous people in our industry that are looking for clarification of the NY State "essential services" mandate as to whether a swimming pool can be opened by pool service professionals.
The document attached is asking NY State to allow pool openings to be deemed "essential". The link to the NY State web site is provided at the top of the attachment. If you agree with this, please copy and paste the letter on the site. Also, feel free to share this request with any other pool service professionals that could benefit from a clarification of the guidelines.
All the best
238900. Is the bus code needed
Hello pool professionals
Please read the below statement and if you agree with the general premise and you would like specifics clearly stated on NYS website so we all know what we can and can’t do, please copy and paste this to
https://esd.ny.gov/content/request-designation-essential-business-purposes-executive-order-2026
Request: This is a request for “Opening Swimming Pools”. This is not a request for new pool construction.
Why: To avoid unintended consequences. A prolonged delay in this service would lead to health hazards associated with an un-sanitized body of water and likely a chlorine shortage due to an abnormal amount of pools being opened exceptionally late. The fact that this spring has been warmer than average is even more reason to avoid delays. This is a sanitation issue that should be stated as “essential” in the guidelines on your website. The current guidelines lack specifics. Many in the industry are looking for clear answers and others are interpreting the guidelines as they see fit. Other nearby states have deemed pool openings “essential” and pool companies have a clear understanding of what they can and can’t do.
How can we safely provide this service? This can be done with “no Knock visits”, customer contact by email/phone only. Preplaced paperwork, stager start times etc. However, removing a pool cover takes two employees to handle it properly. You simply cannot send a bunch of one-man crews to open pools in a safe manner.
One might argue that we just want to get back to business as usual to make money, to be so selfish as to put others at risk for our own gain. I would argue just the opposite. I would put our employees willing to do this in the same category as other “essential” employees that are being praised for doing their job, risking exposure and re-entering the work force as opposed to sitting comfortably on unemployment. We send this request in now as there needs to be a plan to address these real concerns. We are cancelling early openings at this time, but the window to push them back without severe consequences is small. Employee safety would be our number one concern and any employee not comfortable returning to work at this time would not be required to.
Closing statement: Pools need to be opened and operational in warmer weather. They cannot all be opened at once and there are too many people who won’t or can’t do a pool opening themselves. We’re not going to send any links on health hazards associated with un-sanitized standing bodies of water. Talk to other pool professionals and they will tell you the same thing.
If a landscaper can send a crew out to maintain a yard as “essential business”, then opening pools should be a given as it presents a much greater health risk.
Maybe, as a bonus, it would give a few New Yorkers a glimmer of hope too and help keep them at home in a healthy environment.
Please note: ONLY businesses who have determined that they are NOT essential under the guidance should complete this form. Businesses that have determined that they are essential should NOT complete this form.
