on any given day, an aquatic facility’s security can …municipal codes on pool fencing. according...

M A N A G E M E N T & O P E R A T I O N S

F or small children, the first swimming lesson

can be a daunting experience. But if they stick

with it, they can eventually overcome their fears and

master the backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.

Similarly, aquatic facility operators initially over-

whelmed by the task of securing their pools can learn

how to keep their heads above water — provided they

take the time (before their facility’s construction, if pos-

M A N A G E M E N T & O P E R A T I O N S

www.athleticbusiness.com March 2003 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 75

On any given day, an aquatic facility’s security can be put to the test.

Here’s how operators ensure their facilities earn a passing grade.

BY MARVIN BYNUMsible) to map out a thoroughly detailed security plan.

“Sit down with your consultants early in the design

process and determine what type of security you’re

going to need. Develop what’s going to be right for that

facility,” says Alison Osinski of San Diego-based Aquatic

Consulting Services. “How many people are we talking

about? If it’s a little pool where 10 people a day swim, it

needs a different type of security from a water park

BY MARVIN BYNUM

On any given day, an aquatic facility’s security can be put to the test.

Here’s how operators ensure their facilities earn a passing grade.

Photo

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AB MAR- pools 2/10/03 10: 00 AM Page 75

that’s got 8,000. Is it likely to draw large crowds that

might have gang fights? How difficult is it going to be to

keep those people out? Do you need to protect the

property or do you need to protect the people who are

there? Is there a lot of money changing hands?”

There are myriad questions regarding aquatic facil-

ity security, each as complicated as the next. For

most, there is no single correct answer. Just as each

facility caters to a different clientele, each will have dif-

ferent security needs. And on any given day, anything

can happen to test even the most vigilant operations.

But by addressing the following six areas, operators can

certainly improve their facility’s chances for success in

crisis situations.

Drop-off Area/Circulation

A facility’s security assessment should begin outside its

walls — more specifically, in the parking lot. Since this

is where parents drop off their children for a day of

recreation, this area should exude the

greatest sense of security. “The drop-off

area is really important for any project of

a substantial size, particularly aquatic cen-

ters,” says John Courtney, principal of

RJM Design Group in Sacramento, Calif.

“Sometimes, you’ve got kids going to swim lessons

twice a day. It’s nice for parents to have a drop-off area

where they can let the kids out and see them walk

straight to the door and go inside.”

Dwayne Brinkley, principal of Dallas-based Brinkley

Sargent Architects, finds that vestibules serve as safe,

comfortable places for children to wait for their par-

ents. “It’s a place for kids to sit and watch TV until they

see Mom drive up,” he says.

For outdoor facilities, Courtney recommends that

waiting areas be located within clear sight of the front

office, but outside the facility’s gates. This way, staff

members can monitor those individuals waiting for

rides, lock up and go about their closing duties without

worrying about unauthorized entry. Courtney also

urges facility operators to remember to place at least

one pay phone in the waiting area. “That’s kind of a no-

brainer, but it should be planned for and not put in as

an afterthought,” he says. “People need to be aware of

where it is. A lot of times, kids will be waiting for par-

ents to pick them up, but they may be late and the kids

need to make a phone call. Cell phones are great, but

they don’t always work. It’s good to have a pay phone.”

These areas should always be well-lit, adds Courtney.

But for outdoor aquatic facilities, it’s not the greatest

idea to leave the pool deck’s tall, competition lights on

at night for security’s sake. One reason is that the lights

can disturb neighbors if the facility is in a residential

area, plus they can serve to attract curious youths.

Shorter bollard-style light fixtures

should suffice to illuminate a facility’s

pedestrian walkways and door entrances

(a touch that security or police officers

making periodic checks will likely appre-

ciate), without raising unwanted light-

pollution issues.

Fencing

Perimeter fencing is a necessity for out-

door facilities and is a security feature

that in recent years has offered opera-

tors increasingly varied options.

Before delving into those alternatives,

though, it’s important for facility opera-

tors to check their respective state and

municipal codes on pool fencing.

According to Osinski, some states

require fences only 4 feet tall, while oth-

ers mandate 10-foot heights. Fence

height will ultimately depend on what

type of fencing is used, with chain-link,

wrought iron and brick being the most common

choices.

Chain-link is easy to install and is the least expensive

of the three, but in some states, such as Brinkley’s

native Texas, code requires barbed wire to be attached

to the top of the chain link. The barbed wire must

extend in the opposite direction of the pool deck at a

45-degree angle to prevent people from climbing the

fence. Climbing was fairly easy on older fences with

23⁄4-inch openings within the mesh, but Osinski says it’s

much more difficult for individuals to scale newer

fences that follow the latest U.S. Consumer Product

Safety Commission’s recommendation for 13⁄4-inch mesh

(only if the mesh is reinforced with vertical plastic or

wooden slats; otherwise, 11⁄4-inch mesh is recom-

mended).

76 ATHLETIC BUSINESS March 2003 www.athleticbusiness.com

AT FOLSOM AQUATIC CENTER,PLEXIGLASS SHEETS COVER

EMERGENCY-EXIT GATES AND UP

TO 4 FEET OF FENCING ON EACH

SIDE TO DETER WOULD-BE

GATECRASHERS.

Photo

court

esy of

RJM

Desig

n Grou

p

AT FOLSOM AQUATIC CENTER,PLEXIGLASS SHEETS COVER

EMERGENCY-EXIT GATES AND UP

TO 4 FEET OF FENCING ON EACH

SIDE TO DETER WOULD-BE

GATECRASHERS.


As secure as it may be, the combination of chain-link

and barbed-wire fencing may suggest for some patrons

a too-secure (and aesthetically disappointing) environ-

ment. In recent years, wrought-iron fencing has

emerged as a more attractive alternative. These fences

can be powder-coated in multiple colors to blend in

with a facility’s color scheme, yet they maintain high-

level security because they’re constructed of vertical

bars spaced no more than 4 inches apart. The bars are

soldered to two horizontal elements that are often spec-

ified to maintain a separation of at least 45 inches (in

many cases, the bottom bar must be no more than

4 inches off the ground).

Brick is universally held as an attractive building

material and can lend character to an aquatic facility.

But brick’s high cost makes it an impractical choice for

use along the entire perimeter, especially if the facility

covers several acres of land. Architects typically utilize

brick as a decorative touch — at gates, for example —

and use wrought iron for the remaining fences. “You

want people to see into certain parts of a park; you

don’t want them to see other parts,” Osinski says. “But

you don’t necessarily want to wall everything in.”

Architects also strive to make the fence blend in with

the background as much as possible, to preserve views

of the surrounding natural landscape. “When you’re

there to swim, you’re also there to enjoy the grass and

trees around you,” says James Maland of St. Paul, Minn.-

based Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik & Associates.

Maland curves the perimeter fences at his outdoor

aquatic projects whenever possible, which helps make

them “disappear,” he says. “A fence is most visually

prominent when it’s in a straight line. We like to make it

curvilinear at all stages, to try to get away from square

corners and long, straight sections.”

Entry/Exit

They tend to draw the greatest attention of facility oper-

ators, but it’s at the entry and exit points where mis-

takes are most often made, says Osinski. “They have

people come and go through the same entrance. That’s

a bad idea, because you’re going to get a bottleneck

when you have large numbers. You always want them

coming in at one location and leaving at another.”

Facility operators have available to them a number of

devices — turnstiles, card scanners, panic exit hard-

ware, laser-beam alert systems and metal detectors —

all of which can help them regulate control points. But

such technology can be rendered useless without an effi-

cient implementation strategy.

Take, for example, the experiences of the staff at the

two-year-old Folsom (Calif.) Aquatic Center. The out-

door aquatic facility’s entry features two gates, one of

which was initially used for season-pass holders and

the other for daily-pass patrons. Season-pass holders

would pass through the gate on the left-hand side, slid-

ing their pass cards through the turnstile at their

leisure. Meanwhile, individuals purchasing daily passes

would enter through the right gate, which is adjacent to

the ticket office, and conduct their transactions through

the office’s sliding glass window. All patrons would exit

via three self-locking gates located strategically along

the facility’s perimeter.

But Folsom’s staff soon discovered security weak-

nesses in their entry/exit set-up. The self-swipe system

didn’t allow staff members inside to view patrons’ photos

onscreen as they passed by. “Their photo would come

up on the screen but we were looking at their back as the

photo popped up,” says Jocelyn Smeltzer, Folsom’s

aquatics supervisor. “We didn’t even know if that was the

person pictured. They could’ve been using someone

else’s card. I don’t know how often that happened.”

There were problems at the exit gates, as well. “As

people walked out, a different person would grab the

gate and sneak in,” says Smeltzer. “We saw it occasion-

ally, enough to know we were probably losing revenue.”

Within months, Folsom’s staff instituted several

changes that remain in place today. The self-swipe sys-

tem was abandoned and the turnstile was reversed so

that it now serves as the main exit. The perimeter gates

became emergency exits, each being outfitted with

panic exit hardware. Today all patrons enter through

one gate and must have their cards scanned at the

ticket office window.

Although a better situation than before, the current

system is still somewhat problematic, says Smeltzer.

Strollers are too wide to pass through the turnstile exit,

meaning that parents pushing strollers must leave

through an emergency-exit gate with a staff member

escort. Also, at peak usage times (holidays and the sum-

mer-season opening, in particular), the one-lane

entrance experiences high congestion.

This summer Smeltzer plans to purchase a portable

card scanner to speed up the lines, and eventually

hopes to replace the narrow turnstile with a wider, one-

way revolving exit gate similar to those at subway sta-

tions and zoos.


“SIT DOWN WITH YOUR CONSULTANTS EARLY IN THE DESIGN PROCESSAND DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF SECURITY YOU’RE GOING TO NEED.”“SIT DOWN WITH YOUR CONSULTANTS EARLY IN THE DESIGN PROCESSAND DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF SECURITY YOU’RE GOING TO NEED.”


Offices

Aquatic facilities can bring in thousands of dollars in a

single day, making the handling of cash a key security

concern. Precautions need to be taken to reduce risk of

outside as well as internal theft.

One Brinkley Sargent client had an incident involving

an employee who understood the daily counting proce-

dures and hid in the counting room’s ceiling space until

the coast was clear, then robbed the facility.

Episodes like these have led the firm to retrofit sev-

eral of its clients’ office spaces with one small room for

money counting and a separate safe room. Both rooms

are monitored by video and can only be accessed by

pass code. The doors to these rooms are unmarked.

The counting room is designed so that an employee

counts the money on a glass table, reducing the risk of

misplaced or hidden bills. Once counting is finished,

the employee passes the lock box to a supervisor in

the safe room via a narrow pass slot. The supervisor

then recounts the money, confirming the total with

the employee in the counting room before storing it in

the safe.

“Cash management is a big issue and it’s becoming

bigger. More attention is being given to the people tak-

ing care of the drawers,” says Brinkley. “It’s a fairly easy

mark if you don’t take control of it.”

Locker Rooms

An increasing number of recreation centers feature

both indoor and outdoor aquatic components. Some

even charge separate fees for indoor and outdoor areas,

which share locker-room facilities.

It’s an effective cost-saving building strategy, but what

happens when one part of the facility is open for after-

hours formal functions, for example, yet the pool area is

closed? “You don’t want people wandering into the pool

areas when they don’t belong in there,” says Osinski.

“The pool may not be open and staff will think it’s locked

up, but kids are using those locker rooms and rest

rooms, and they can wander right from there into the

pool. You have to make sure they can’t get in there.”

Both the architects and staff of the Oak Point Center

in Plano, Texas, have worked diligently to ensure the

security of the facility’s locker-room areas. Taking

advantage of the sloping site, Oak Point was designed

so that all of its aquatic components are located on the

facility’s lower level. Indoors, there is a 50-meter compe-

tition pool, a 2,000-square-foot leisure pool, a kiddie

pool and the locker rooms. Outside is a 6,000-square-

foot leisure pool.

The aquatics area has exclusive use of the lower-level

locker rooms; upstairs on the main level are locker

rooms for “dry side” activities. If necessary, Oak Point’s

staff can essentially close off the entire lower level with-

out disrupting other facility operations. The center’s

main control desk is adjacent to both the elevator and

the stairs to the lower level.

There are also control points strategically located to

closely monitor the entrances to the aquatics-area

locker rooms, which share a vestibule opening to both

the outdoor and indoor pool areas. All outdoor pool

patrons must check in at a control point located on the

pool deck before entering the locker room, while indi-

viduals inside must pass a similar desk at the end of the

hallway leading to the locker rooms. “Big crowds

always present a challenge,” says Chris Elder, Oak

Point’s aquatics coordinator. “But the way we’ve got

everything streamlined makes it a lot easier to handle.”

Surveillance

Technology in this area has come a long way in recent

years, presenting facility operators with a variety of

options at both ends of the price scale.

Video surveillance and video monitoring systems

have emerged as the market’s leading choices. Video

surveillance systems are often set up to begin recording

and alert either the facility owner or the police when

unauthorized after-hours disturbances are detected by

the system’s cameras. Video monitoring systems differ

in that they run live closed-circuit feeds from the cam-

eras to a remote monitor, which can be placed at a con-

trol desk or other administrative area. These systems

can switch between multiple cameras, showing each

location onscreen for several seconds at a time. Each

type of video security system can be equipped to sound

verbal warnings (“The police have been alerted,” for

example) and is available with additional recording

options, including continuous recording, motion-detec-

tion recording and weekly-scheduled recording.

There are drawbacks to each system, however. The

monitoring system’s snapshot device, because it pro-

vides periodic coverage for each camera, could allow

the monitoring individual to miss something. One of

Osinski’s clients missed the breakout of a fight at the

facility’s entry/exit point because of this feature. “You

could see both parties in the lobby area. Then in the


“IT’S NICE FOR PARENTS TO HAVE A DROP-OFF AREA WHERETHEY CAN LET THE KIDS OUT AND SEE THEM WALK STRAIGHT

TO THE DOOR AND GO INSIDE.”

“IT’S NICE FOR PARENTS TO HAVE A DROP-OFF AREA WHERETHEY CAN LET THE KIDS OUT AND SEE THEM WALK STRAIGHT

TO THE DOOR AND GO INSIDE.”


next camera shot, one guy’s laying there bleeding all

over the place,” she says, adding that the culprit was

eventually apprehended. “Sure enough, the camera

didn’t get it. It was on something else at the time.”

On the other hand, video surveillance systems have

been guilty of false alarms, as was the case for several

months at Folsom Aquatic Center. Installed as an after-

thought, the motion-detecting, eight-camera system

turned on at even the slightest visual disturbances dur-

ing its first few months of operation. These ranged from

a torn poster fluttering in the lifeguard office to flapping

pool covers on the pool deck to thirsty deer hopping

the fence from the adjacent woodlands. “My poor main-

tenance guy — his wife unplugged the phone because

he was getting 10 calls every night,” says Smeltzer, who

also receives a phone call from the monitoring service

and, in turn, notifies the police, if necessary. “We

needed to make it sensitive enough to get a person, but

not a bird, and that was challenging. I wouldn’t say it’s

perfect yet, but it’s a lot better. It’s been a useful system

and we keep fine-tuning it.”

On the whole, the Wooster (Ohio) Parks and Recre-

ation staff has been happy with its video surveillance

system, which was installed nearly three years ago at

the city’s three pools. In fact, the system proved useful

in its first weekend of service. Three juveniles broke

into the bathhouse at one pool and threw a pressure

washer into the water, causing nearly $1,000 worth of

damage. “All the police had to do was point to the cam-

era and — whether it caught them on camera or not —

the kids confessed on the spot,” says Jeff Battig,

Wooster’s recreation coordinator. “The camera is a

deterrent. People don’t really mess with it.”

According to Battig, it cost his department approxi-

mately $10,000 to purchase and install the equipment at

all three facilities. A local company donated Folsom’s

video surveillance system, although the recreation

department paid $7,000 for installation and continues to

pay $100 a month for the alarm monitoring service.

Officials with the Keller (Texas) Parks and Recre-

ation Department are considering a high-end system

that eclipses the technology of both the aforemen-

tioned systems. Their 76,000-square-foot recreation and

aquatics center doesn’t break ground until May, but

when it does, the facility could be equipped with a

fiberoptics network linking it with Keller’s police head-

quarters. The system would allow police to visually

monitor the center at any time, and if a break-in was

detected, they could lock down the facility without ever

leaving their computer terminal. Of course, says Keller

recreation director Dona Roth Kinney, whether the

high-tech system is installed will come down to final

budget considerations.

Underwater drowning-detection systems are also

popping up on the wish lists of aquatic facility opera-

tors, although because of these systems’ cost — which

ranges from $80,000 to $140,000 for equipment and

installation — few have actually made it into a facility.

“That’s the hot thing. You go to any of the conferences

and everybody wants one,” says Osinski, who adds that

the facilities installing such systems are often reacting

to recent drowning deaths. “They realize how inexpen-

sive that system is compared to the drowning. The

price is still relatively high, but there are pools all over

the place that are budgeted to get them this year.”

Technological advancements aside, the most signifi-

cant security strategy may simply be to know your

patrons. “Look at your audience: Is it mainly families

with young kids, or is this the facility that’s attracting

rowdy teenagers? Do we need to search everybody’s

picnic baskets or don’t we?” asks Osinski, adding that

most pool patrons will likely cringe at such airport-like

security measures. “ ‘Why should I be treated like a ter-

rorist just because I’m coming in someplace to have a

good time?’ ”

Malgosia Atkinson, leisure services manager and divi-

sion head of aquatics for Durham (N.C.) Parks and

Recreation, has made getting to know patrons a num-

ber-one priority since a young boy sneaked into and

drowned at one of her city’s pools last July. After the

tragedy, some residents raised concerns regarding the

pools’ accessibility and fees, hypothesizing that the boy

swam at night because he couldn’t afford to pay during

the day.

It only costs $2 to swim at Durham’s pools, but fee

waiver programs are available for individuals who can’t

afford even that amount, and each pool offers free swim-

ming hours once a week. Additionally, Atkinson has

empowered her pool supervisors to make judgment

calls if approached at the gates by an empty-handed,

swimsuit-clad youngster. “I’m not going to let somebody

come in and disrupt my operation,” she says. “But I will

not deny access to anyone who just wants to come in on

a hot day and go for a swim. If they behave, we will cer-

tainly allow them free access to the facility.” ■


“CASH MANAGEMENT IS A BIG ISSUE. IT’S A FAIRLY EASY MARKIF YOU DON’T TAKE CONTROL OF IT.”

“CASH MANAGEMENT IS A BIG ISSUE. IT’S A FAIRLY EASY MARKIF YOU DON’T TAKE CONTROL OF IT.”


on any given day, an aquatic facility’s security can …municipal codes on pool fencing. according...

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