001Mhm. >> I am going to be acting this evening at least temporarily as your chair in the absence of Amy Dickey and Bernie Smith. And in accordance with the rules of procedure article 5 which is meetings and section 8 of that I will take nominations for another board member to be designated to preside as temporary chair at the meeting. Dr. Fred Kalish who is the third member of the CHSB executive committee has volunteered to fill this role upon nomination by any one of you guys and then a majority vote of those of you who are present. So at this point I would take a nomination for someone to serve as temporary chair. I'll make that nomination. All right, welcome Dr. Mel. And you would like to nominate? Uh Dr. Kalish. All right, excellent. And may
002I have a second? I'll second that. Excellent. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? Excellent. Dr. Kalish, take it away. Good evening everybody. Thank you for coming and if we could all stand and then we'll start how we start each meeting with our Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance [clears throat] to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. And we have a volunteer for invocation. Yeah. As we gather this evening, let us pause with gratitude for the opportunity to serve our community together. We are thankful for the many individuals, families, children, seniors, and veterans whose lives interact with the work of this board and the human services agency. May we always remember the
003human impact behind every discussion, decision, and policy. Dear God, tonight I pray that you will grant this board and our team the wisdom to lead with integrity, compassion to listen with understanding, and the courage to make decisions that strengthen the health and safety and well-being of all of Union County's residents. May they find support, hope, and encouragement through the work that we do together. And may this meeting be productive, thoughtful, and guided by progress and unity. Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right. Well, then we'll move on to We'll start by introduction of the members. We have a new member with us tonight. Uh the gentleman by the name of Ben Mount. He is uh filling the position of other person. That was our vacancy. He comes to us from 5 years ago from New Jersey.
004Correct. Uh lives in Indian Trail. Is an avid golfer. See how See how I was listening? Yes, he really loves cats. But uh I'll I'll I'll let him introduce himself and then we'll move on to each each of the members, please. Good evening. Uh as Cole I said, my name is Ben Mount. I am relatively new to the area. We've We've here about 4 years in in Indian Trail. Uh I come from New Jersey. I understand I have the accent, not y'all. I'm working on my y'all, but you might hear a forget about it or a not for nothing every once in a while my Jersey my Jersey roots kick in. Um by way of background, I was I spent 17 years with the Atlantic County, New Jersey Division of Public Health, including almost 13
005years as Division Director uh through COVID and H1N1. And COVID wore me out, and when it waned, it was time to it was time to retire. So, we're down here. Uh I have my my undergraduate degrees in journalism and communications. Uh I have a master's degree in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Go Panthers. Uh I also have a master's degree in in public health from New Jersey's University of Medicine and Dentistry. Uh and I'm just very very happy to be here. My my wife and I are are very much enjoying Union County and Indian Trail, and we are just very very happy to be here. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. We appreciate you being here and volunteering your time and a wealth of knowledge that that you bring to. I am Dr. Craig
006Collash. Uh I'm with the Novant Health System. I am a general surgeon uh by trade with a specialty in bariatrics and weight loss. But, I'm a Virginia Tech Hokies fan. So, okay. I'm a little wilder here. >> [laughter] >> You like ACC action. A lot of ACC. I'm Susan Marciniak. I live in Waxhaw. We've been here for over about 8 years. We moved here from Florida originally. Um and I've been on the board for a couple years now, so [snorts] >> [clears throat] >> Welcome. Thank you. I'm Eric Claflin. I work for Union EMS, and I live in Waxhaw. I'm Matt Charles, I'm a psychologist. I work in Mecklenburg and then I live in Union County. Hello, I'm Norris Harrigan. I'm an engineer. I live in Indian Trail as well. Moved here in 2008 from
007New York. So, welcome. Hello, I'm Hugh Crist. I work in the Monroe Police Department and I am a visitor tonight. I'm the Veteran Service Officer. Hi everyone, I'm Michelle Marcano, Director of Veteran Services. >> [clears throat] >> I'm mouthful. Say it again. You need it. >> Yeah. I'm Jeff Broadway, veterinarian. Work under the Public Health Director here. Hello everyone, welcome Mr. Mayor. I'm Tracy Colley, Union County Public Health Director. I'm Laura Baker, Union County Environmental Health, Food, Lodging and Institution Supervisor. Ashley Burks, Nursing Director of Public Health. Hi, I'm Carlos Sowells, the Compliance Coordinator for Human Services. I'm Jackie Morgan, I'm the Business Operations Director for Human Services. Welcome. And I'm Stephanie Starr and I am the Director of Community Support and Outreach. Jonathan Miller, Human Services Agency Director. I just wanted to be the
008Assistant Director for this meeting. I'm in. If there's a test, I'm going to fail. >> [laughter] >> Usually I have name tags. Take off all the name tags. >> [laughter] >> Especially for you, we chose not to. >> [laughter] >> All right, so next we will move on to the approval of the [snorts] minutes. So, we will need an approval and then a second. Motion for approval on the minutes. Motion for approval. Second. And we have a second. Then we will move on to approval of the agenda items for tonight, which looks like we have a a good presentation, but it will hopefully go well. No, you have to get a vote after the second. Sorry. >> I'm sorry. I'll ask for the minutes. Do we have a second? Oh, we have to I'm sorry.
009Yes, sir. Oh, we have to vote. Is the vote to approve the minutes? I. I. I. Thank you. Are we good? Yeah, absolutely. Welcome. Keep me in line. It's perfect. I need like no problem. >> in this together. I need a cheat sheet here. All right. Uh so, we move on to the approval of the agenda items for tonight. Do we need approval? Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. Second. Does everybody approve? I. I. I. Did I do that right? Perfect. >> good? All right. Second. >> [laughter] >> Excellent. So, it says division report, but we will go ahead and start with the presentation, uh public swimming pool program overview. >> [snorts] >> Good evening. Good evening, everyone. I'm going to introduce Laura Baker. Uh Laura's been with Union County 18 years, four of
010which most recently as the supervisor for the food, lodging, and institutions program. She has a lot She has a a lot on her plate. Uh the food, lodging, and institutions program includes uh all restaurant facilities, food stands, food trucks, anything basically where you have food for sale to the pub prepared and sold to the public. That's under her uh jurisdiction. Uh she's also responsible for all the lodging facilities, uh hotels, motels, bed and breakfast, inns. Um let's see, institutions such as uh the hospital, uh nursing homes, assisted living, and another example is tattooing facilities. But today or tonight, she's here to talk to you about the public swimming pool program. It's a timely topic because we're heading into the summer. I saw the pool down the street from me open just this past Mother's Day.
011I know a lot of moms were there swimming. So, it's a very important public health program. A lot of the work is done behind the scenes, but very important work that's done on behalf of the community. So, happy to introduce Laura tonight to give this presentation. Okay, I'm not going to introduce myself again, so we're going to skip skip the first slide. Okay, most people want to know what is a public swimming pool. A public swimming pool is any structure or chamber or tank that holds water that anybody from the public can go swimming in. So, it's serves more than one family. We also have artificial swimming lagoons, and that's any body of water that's more than 20,000 square feet, has a artificial liner, and then in the swim area is has disinfected. Um, we
012also now have display spas are also regulated up underneath the program now, and we'll get into why in a little bit. Um, in Union County, we have regular swimming pools, we have lazy rivers, spas, wading pools, and splash pads. We have a total of 208 pools, and of those 193 are seasonal. And so, right now this is our seasonal time when we're running around trying to get all these permitted before the hot upcoming holiday. We currently have nine pools in plan review, and when I first did this, we were at eight and had to go back, change it to We do an opening inspection for permitting to make sure the pool meets the rules, and we do an in-season inspection. Our inspections have six-point items, four-point items, and two-point items. Tonight, I'm going to just
013go over the six- and four-point items due to how critical they are to swimming pools. So, for six-point items, we have the water quality and rescue equipment. And one of the best pieces of equipment we have is that tube right there. It has a solid spyglass in the bottom. If you fish and you've used a bucket where you can look down and cut the plane of the water, that's all we're doing is cutting the plane of the water. That gives us better visibility to the main to the main drains. And I don't know if you can tell so far away, but that particular main drain only has one screw that is not rusty. And main drain screw screws should never rust. Uh onto the four-point items, we look for the cleanliness and condition of the
014pool. We also make sure that it's signage and the depth markings and the no diving markings, um that there's no glass and no pet signs are posted for the pools. Four-point items continues, we look at the equipment and the system. What What is the pumping system do? Is it installed properly? Are there any hazards with that system? We also make sure that the fence is installed properly, that it meets the rules. Are there any external foot holes? Um and a real popular one is lighting. If they don't have lighting, there's no night swimming. Uh every year, the certified pool operator, which we call a CPO, has to submit a drain sheet for every circulation system they have at that pool. So, if they have a lazy river, they may have six pumps to push that
015river, so they'll have six sheets for that lazy river. We review those systems, the drains, the sumps, the equalizer covers, and um vacuum lines for each one of those sheets. And then we take that sheet in the field when we do our in-season inspection and verify that information again because some of that may change. If a drain breaks and they have to replace it, they don't always notify, so we want to make sure that the drain needs the pool. And [snorts] all this came into effect around 2010 for North Carolina. And it is because Virginia Virginia, I got to slow down, you know, those nerves. Virginia Graeme Baker was drowned after being trapped in a spa in 2002 when she was 7 years old. So, through the work of several agencies and her grandmother and
016her mother, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act became effect in 2008. And then North Carolina got it adopted into the rules in 2010. The goal of that was to enhance safety for pools and spas, reduce the number of child drownings, and reduce the number of suction entrapments, incidents, injuries, and deaths. So, there's a lot of technical stuff that if you don't do it, probably just run right by, but we have to determine how the drain is built. And we didn't need this information until 2021. So, we had pools in the ground before this was required. So, we would What we have had to do is have our CPOs, our operators, go out and measure the sumps. They measure from the top of the pool to the bottom of the sump. The sump
017is where the main drains are attached in the pool where it sucks the water down to go through the recirculation system. So, they measure how far across, how deep the pipe is, and how what size the pipe is. And the reason for that that it changed so drastically, if you look at the one on the left-hand side, the BGBA from 2008, it has two flows. Well, now the new sheet, that same drain cover, has about 27 flows. So, we have to know the measurements to know whether or not we can match that drain cover to the pump. So, if the pump does 500 gallons a minute, the drain cover needs to be rated for 500 gallons per minute. If it is not, we cannot issue a permit because this is a suction hazard. Going along
018with um the pumps, we also have to make sure that it is bonded and grounded properly. I'm not an electrician, so when this came about, I had to get a, you know, a little bit of a education. I'm an environmental health specialist. Um so, we depended heavily on our building code and they were very good resource for us. So, on on the left-hand side, both of those meet the rules, and on the right-hand side, you can't use electrical tape and you cannot have it properly um the electrical properly attached with uh wire nuts. Um our next thing that we look at is the water quality. Believe it or not, that is a 1-ft pool. It is a wading pool in our county, and that's 1 ft of water, and you cannot see the main drains.
019Um and one of the reasons for being able to see the main drains is you can't see a child underwater if the pool is cloudy. So, we look at We have clarity, we have our pH and our disinfectant. The reason that balance is important is because we want that chlorine to be able to act on organisms in that water. If that balance is off, it won't kill the organisms. Um most system, not most, all pools have to have an automatic disinfectant feeders that when the pump shuts off, that the feeders don't. So, it's either a liquid feed or an erosion feeder. Also, they changed the way that we look at emergency phones. Um it used to be we'd pick it up, we'd call 911, they'd say, "Yeah, we got the call." Now we have to
020pick it up, we communicate the information for the pool, they communicate back to us the number that they see on their board, then after we hang up, we get our cell phones out and we have to call that number and make sure it rings. >> [snorts] >> Cuz believe it or not, sometimes you Well, you might know. Lot of times when you call a number, it may be ringing on the inside of the building and not the outside. But we need for the emergency number to ring back to the pool where they can get the person that made the call. Uh night swimming, a lot of people want to do night swimming, but if you don't have enough lights, you can't swim. The law changed on that. It used to be we could use go
021by 10-ft candles. Now it is if we go out and we think it is sufficient lighting by our eyes, then we can permit it for night swimming. And sufficient lighting is that the main drains um are visible, all areas of the pool are visible, deck space, depth markers, signs, all that is visible. >> [clears throat] >> And um that approval is good for 3 years, but during an inspection, we have to verify that all the lights come on. If they don't come on, we pull that approval. So the enforcement for these, if it is a six- or four-point item, we cannot permit the pool. And the reason for that is it is a failure to maintain minimum water quality or safety standards or design or construction standards. And that is also a suction hazard. Um
022now if it is already has a permit for the swim season and it's a six-point item, we suspend the permit till that is corrected. If it is a four-point item, then we issue them a 30-day intent to suspend to get it repaired. >> Pardon? Okay. Um we do also have to do plan review for our public swimming pools. These are pictures. Most of the pictures I've put in here are stuff that we've experienced when we've been out. Um so these are pictures from our plan review where we have to do measurements from when we did our pipe sizing and we have to walk it over and make sure what we approved is actually under the ground. Um we also do an equipment change and renovation. We we ask for this when they're changing something at
023the pool because we want to make sure that it meets the rules and that picture over to the right is an actual pool that we had to have them bust the concrete back up around the edge of the pool because there was not an electrical inspection done to verify that it was installed properly. So unfortunately we've had to have Yeah, we've had to have some pools busted up down at the main drains or around the side or they installed a whole deck without having the proper inspections and when you don't have that you can create electrical hazards or you can create other safety hazards as the main drains not being properly built even though you told me they were this way but they're totally different. Um but our core plan review requirements, we require that
024a registered design professional submits these plans and they need to stamp and sign each individual page. They need to submit their calculations, the VGB drain safety compliance sheet, that's the one we get every year. Um it needs to have all the equipment on there, the size of the equipment room, the size of the chemical room. Um dimensions about the pool shell, what is the slope cuz too much slope everybody's just going to slide down in there and and get hurt. Um where is the fill spout? Uh if you have a fill spout that's not protected it could be damaged or someone can get hurt getting out of the pool and making sure the piping is sized properly. We have to, you know, if the pump is doing 230 gallons per minute, we need to know
025that the pipe can handle that pressure. And circulation system, that's including the filters, um can handle the flow of the pump. Um and there are additional requirements for waiting pools, spas, interactive play attractions. It just I had 150 slides. I I was trying to chop it down cuz I didn't think anyone would sit through that. So, I think I got it down to 30. >> [laughter] >> And so, why do we do this? It's because public health and safety depends on those pool inspections. And for reasons of like illnesses, in 2019, um a hot tub display in North Carolina State Fair was linked to Legionnaires' disease outbreak that resulted in four deaths and 133 reported cases. Um so, if we go back to what I said we now do display spas, we now have that
026display spa because of this incident. Um in 2019, pools located in Wake County contributed to 29 cases of cryptosporidium, which we call crypto. And in 2024, Mecklenburg investigated six cases of crypto associated with the Swim Mac facility. Um and why those are important to us is we have competition swimmers that swam at both those pools and came back to this county and swam in their pools. So, then we had to go out and have their pools treated for crypto. Um so, anytime this happens in another county, they either notify our um health department and they reach out to us or vice versa, we'll reach back out to them. Also, another thing we want to avoid with our, you know, while performing our inspections is we make sure there's nothing for injury. And in 2021, Bombay
027Park in Davidson County, 18 children received chemical burns from splash pads. And you know, little kids, those little things are shooting up and the first thing they want to do is go stand right over them. So, a lot of children that were wearing the shorts or board shorts had more significant injuries to their body. Um, we also want to prevent suction hazards. Um, Valerie Lucky in 1993 um our main drain cover was removed and she sat down on the main drain and it sucked out most of her intestines. The family sued the owners of the pool, they sued the health department, they sued the pump manufacturer and they sued the drain cover manufacturer. And they were awarded 25 million in compen- compa- I can't even say that compensatory damages. I wrote the slide. But >>
028[laughter] >> by the time the main- they got hold of the pump manufacturer and the cover manufacturer got all that in combined, they were up near 3.9 million. The individual in the pool is not drowning. We were doing a pool inspection and found an unsecure drain and they could not secure the drain while we were there so they called a diver in to look at that drain to see why it wasn't and then they provided us with documentation from you know, with the underwater cameras or it was a GoPro of what they found and why it would not and then we were able to make that pool safe within the week. Um, no drowning lawsuits. Jaquan Williams was found in the bottom of the lap pool in Lyons Adventure Water Park. He couldn't swim. Um,
029the insurance carrier for the city of Kingston settled the family for 10 million. Monroe Aquatics and Fitness Center in June of 2- 9th of 2022, a five-year-old girl was swimming and she went under water for a known amount of time and the settlement was 4.2 million. Um, we've also had drownings and I've tried to keep most of this inside North Carolina. You can go out and find them, you know, throughout South Carolina, Tennessee, anywhere in the United States you can see that in those numbers is Texas. Yes. Um but in Durham County in 2018, a 15, 16, and 20-year-old drowned. In Wake County in 2023, um a 4-year-old drowned in an apartment complex. Uh and this particular incident is incident is why we look at pump wiring when we're in there. We go off of
030the see something, say something. I'm not an electrician, my staff is not are not electricians. But if we see something that looks odd or different and unusual, we take a picture, we send it in, we get the opinion right there before we leave. If we see something that's not right, staff has to leave that room until we know that that condition is safe. So, if we get in there, we snap a picture, and then they have to leave. We're not going to permit that pool at the time. Or if that happens during an inspection, we step out, we get people out of the pool, and we close the pool until it's been properly inspected. But a lifeguard in Wake County was um electrically shocked while she was sampling the pool water before opening the pool.
031She fell in and she drowned. Um there are several electrical incidents happen every year. Last year we had one for a slide, and every time somebody got to climb that slide and they grabbed the handrail, they were being shocked. Um it was a lifeguard at the pool. It got reported, the CPO called us, they shut down the pool. They ended up having to hire I'm going to call it like a um electrical investigator. Because it's not it's not as easy to find some electrical issues. And um so they hired that gentleman, he came out, found the issue, corrected the issue. We had that reinspected, and then we were able to open the pool. Um chlorine gas incidents. Um Guilford County. Uh this is when they have chlorine and acid at pools. So, when you put
032those two together, you're going to get a chlorine gas. Um the liquid chlorine and the acid continued to feed into the system and it created that chlorine gas that pushed out through all the returns where the water is coming back to the pool. So, then it pushed that gas out at those and eight children inhaled that chlorine gas while they were swimming. And two of them stayed overnight. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured. Um [snorts] but that piece of equipment you see on the board, we make sure that when we have the pump turned off during inspection, that that pump stops. It that little circle beside it on the left-hand side is actually a wheel that tells it to turn off or turn on. There's several different styles. But we make sure that when the pump
033turns off, that turns off cuz we don't want those two chemicals to feed. It can either turn into gas or it can expand the pipe and create a larger issue. It also happened in Durham County. But um that one was a unique thing that they actually worked with their fire services cuz they could not figure out how that gas made it to the pool deck. So, fire services came down and smoked that room and they found that it was coming up through the um the drain that drains alongside the pool. Um anytime after we have a serious illness, injury, or death, even if it's a trip fall and somebody bumps their head, um we have to do a follow up view of that pool and we have to go out on site and do an
034inspection of that pool. Typically, if it's something, you know, significant enough that we've had a report, the certified pool operator has already closed that pool, has called us, and is waiting on us to be there at 8:00 in the morning if it happened at night time. But they'll have it closed and we'll get there. They're they're good at working with us in these instances. Um and sometimes what may occur is we get media requests. You may get subpoenas, depositions, trials, and settlements. Um one of the things um I'm I'm not a big fan of, but legislation says they can do is sharing economy platforms. And these are short-term rentals or hourly pool rentals. Um, laws exempt private single-family pools from regulation. Um, and it [clears throat] allows homeowners to advertise their pools on sharing economy
035platforms. Um, Uh, this is new legislation that went into effect last summer um, in North Carolina. So, I wanted to make sure we mention this during the presentation so you were aware. Sorry. That's That's okay. You steal my thunder all the time. She does. That's okay. Um, I had my notes for that. Uh, so, the only thing in the statute when the statute first came out or when it was first approved in July of '25, they had some minimum requirements they would have to meet. And by the time it made it back out in August or September, all those requirements were gone and it just says that it has to be maintained in a good, safe, working order. That's it. Nothing else. The responsibility was solely on the homeowner, not with environmental health. The law
036does not grant environmental health authority to inspect the pools for compliance. Um, and the reason this is a big concern is it creates um, public health concerns, um, which is the physical hazards of drain entrapment. The drains are not inspected. You don't know if the drain matches the pump. None of that is required for them to do that. And also, waterborne illness risks, you know, that cryptosporidium outbreak. You have somebody that swims from crypto, then everybody goes swims in that pool from another party, and then they go back to their neighborhoods and swim, and we really won't catch it till our neighborhood pools have it in them, and it's wherever else it can go. So, thank you, but um, I I my little closing statement was area inspection that we conduct is an act of
037prevention. So, every time my team goes out, they have questions or they are able to verify that the pool is safe, I feel like we have prevented an illness or an injury in you know, our pool inspections aren't just regulatory to us. We also feel like we're giving a life-saving measure to our our county. That's it. I just have one question. What is crypto? Crypto- cryptosporidium? Yeah. Yeah, cryptosporidium is a it's a little encapsulated thing and it's diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and it is pretty uncomfortable. It has a hard outer membrane and most often you have to filter it out in a pool. >> Yes, we filter it out, but we have to we have to raise the um chlorine um, depending upon the type of pool. Most outside pools have a stabilizing agent to stabilize
038the pH. I mean, stabilize well, pH and the chlorine because you want to make sure that the sun's not cooking off. You don't have that stabilizer. So, what we got to do is we kind of got to lower that stabilizer enough and then raise that chlorine up to where we can basically kind of kill it so we can filter it out. So, once we raise that chlorine, then we run the filters and then we have to backwash that system. And it I don't have the process in front of me because there's three different choices you can choose, but it it's about a minimum, even if you choose the shortest one, a minimum is 48 hours in between when you start treatment and when you can have your first swimmer in. Yeah, I had a question
039on what counts as a public swimming pool. It says like motels and hotels and stuff. There's a lot of like neighborhoods and HOAs and with with pools, do those count as public swimming pools? >> do. Any pool that serves more than one family is going to be a public swimming pool. Even if you're um um a the private club that has a swimming pool, under definition it's still a public It might be a private, but under definition it's still a public swimming pool cuz it serves more than one family. That explains why you're so busy. It's a lot of pools. It's a lot of pools. And you know, with you know, nine people on staff that handle the pool inspections and it when you go through the review of the paperwork and get out there
040and you review it again cuz they will change drain covers. And you know, it's it's a hard thing to have to tell people you got to get out of the pool cuz we're you know, we're coming. They don't want to see us come cuz they know they might close the pool. Um but it's a hard thing to tell these kids you I'm sorry to ruin your summer, but you got to get out of the pool the drain cover don't match. And I'll just add that this isn't the only thing they do. They're They just don't They don't just inspect swimming pools. They're doing all the food establishment inspections, institution inspections, tattooing facility. This just adds to their workload seasonally. And then they work in the year-round pools pools as a matter of course. So Each
041one of these pools has to be inspected before it opens every season, right? >> So you You already answered my question. I was interested to know what it took to wipe out crypto and you already answered that. What's the ideal or what's the acceptable pH for a pool? Um I'll go back. Oh, no, I won't. I didn't check that out of it. So if if you're looking at a um There we go. So our range is 7.2 to 7.8. Um we kind of like to see like 7.4 to 7.6. But you know, if you're adding more chlorine in there, your pH is has possibility of jump. And then they have to play this acid pH chlorine game. But also, how much stabilizer do they have in it? So, we have to check their stabilizer. Right
042now, we're in a drought, so we'll let them kind of creep up on their stabilizer right now, um cuz if we weren't in a drought, we'd tell them, "Oh, it's it's 100. You can't go past 100." But right now, with the drought and the water um situation, we'll let them get up to 200. But when we let them get up to 200, we have to do like a pH chlorine balance thing that goes on to make sure that the pool disinfectant is strong enough, and it gets a little more complicated, maybe a little bit higher pH, a little more chlorine. Is there a Is that the same range? Does Do you inspect saltwater pools? Does anyone have a saltwater pool? Okay, so all All pools are saltwater pools. Okay. Okay. And And the reason I
043say that is sodium hypochlorite is your chlorine. And then sodium salt, the only difference is how it generates the chlorine. So, the sodium salt, when they dump that in the pool, it goes through a salt generator that turns it into the chlorine you need. The sodium The sodium hypochlorite, when you throw it in water, that natural chemical reaction with the water and the so- sodium hypochlorite kind of cleaves it up so that it gives you the amount of chlorine you need. So, both of them are salt pools, but the salt pools most people refer to is I'm going to say the table salt pools, so the sodium chloride pools are the ones that have generators. So, it's the same stuff. It's just produced differently. Does that make sense? >> It makes sense. What's the cost
044of permitting every year? Um 275? I think it's 275. Yes. And how many hours does it take to inspect a pool, and is there an additional cost to come back out for a deficiency? Yes, we do have a $75 revisit fee, um and it it really depends upon what goes on at the pool is the average time cuz some you know, some of these hotel pools, you know, you're looking at maybe 45 minutes. Some of these larger locations that have a swim pool, a lazy river, and a family pool in the middle, then you have to look at each pumping system. Sometimes we've got one we we try to send two people there. That way it'll take about 2 hours to do it. So, a lot of our larger pools you'll see teams because it's
045they're just so large we wouldn't get them done in a day, probably 4 hours, and then with drive time it's cuz you know, most of our pools are on Mecklenburg side of the county. And for efficiency purposes, you know, we really try to allow the operator to go ahead and correct the issues while we're there. So, when we leave, you know, >> Does that drive time back up there? >> it's just Yeah, but It's It's only those issues they cannot fix when we're there. So, if if they can't get a Let's say they're missing a ring buoy or we pick it up and the rope falls apart and they know they have no more ropes in their truck, they go on to the other side of Mecklenburg to get ropes. So, we're probably not going
046to hang around that long for a rope. Um but if it's something like they're missing a main drain screw, they come out, they show us this is the main drain screw and it matches the screws that are supposed to be there, then we'll let them install that screw. Um we we note it on the inspection. We take the points on the inspection, but because it was corrected, we're allowed to issue the permit. No more questions for the witness. How long does it take to do CareWinds? I don't know, but I imagine it's quite a time. I It is in Mecklenburg and South Carolina, so I don't know which one does it. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. And being the owner of a saltwater pool who didn't know about the salt generator, yeah, that's kind of
047an important thing until I kept bringing my water to it and it kept being all messed up and finally the algae grew. >> [snorts] >> And then someone told me, "Did you check your salt?" I'm like, "I didn't even know I had one." I had someone take care of the pool but they went away. It's hard to find people. Yeah, it it is. Even though with the CPOs we have now, there are so many pools, they are extremely busy. There's just People say, "Oh, the competition." There's not enough competitions in in pools because there's so many pools and and the staff is also a lot They have a lot of seasonal staff. So, they only keep their core people and then when pool season's coming up, that's when they, you know, they bring on the
048other people. So, you know, they're also playing catch-up about the same time we're How do you keep up with that like all season? Like pool hours changing weekly. They are required to maintain the documentation for us. If they don't have that documentation of where they run the pH, the chlorine, and we really have to run for the stabilizer. If they don't have that, we issue an intent to suspend because that documentation is important. Yeah, they have to maintain a manual that we review when we show up showing that they're logging it every day, all the Not just chlorine and pH, but >> drains, skimmers. I mean, there's everything they have in your guys' take of the pool for that day. Our one's got to come with a device. Do you guys know what a CPAP
049machine is? Mhm. That like just automatically sends it like the atomic clock back to you like for every pool and if you came up with that device They have some software that some of the CPOs use, but the rule says they have to maintain they have to maintain that at the pool. I know I just That way you guys have one thing to look at and go, "That pool's out." That would be nice. It would be nice. That would That would That'd be a time saver. All right, [clears throat] thank you for that presentation. Anybody have any other questions? Discussion. Okay, I think that the only main agenda item. So, I believe we can move on to and division reports. Um I Okay, I think it's on. Um I was just going to mention two
050things. Uh first of all, we had our volunteer appreciation lunch. We do it annually. Um as um I know I've mentioned and there's some of you who are new, so I'll mention it again. Um our >> [clears throat] >> our senior nutrition program, our home-bound deliveries, are done all with volunteers. I know um Veteran Services has um volunteers at their coffees. Um and so we celebrate our volunteers um once a year and it was [clears throat] a lovely celebration. We did that at the end of April. Um so that was that was great. We had well over 100 volunteers there and um everyone had a great time. And then um also, our community health assessment um for 2025, which we do every 3 years now, um was approved. Um and actually we are have been
051awarded for excellence or will be um at conference that is going on right now um that I was unable to be at, but we do have representation. So, um the community health assessment is a huge collaborative effort um and takes a lot of team members to help with that and um just really proud of all of our efforts and just wanted to let you know. Um I will be presenting more information about that um in in the near future, so we can go over that together. I don't really have any other updates, but I do want to just say if you haven't uh gotten back in touch with Carla in regard to the interviews for the applicant that we've received, please let her know uh if you're able to serve on that and and willing
052to do that. And also [clears throat] hopefully in the next month, we will be hearing of final information about the FY27 budget. And it's been um a an excellent process this year with the central budget team, with our county management leadership. It has not been an easy process, I know for them, um from an economic perspective and and just an overall budget perspective, but uh we've had really good engagement with all of our team and um are looking forward hopefully to sustain funding at a minimum for all of our programs and there are several that we may be able to have a little bit of additional funding, not so much that's going to expand services in most instances, but allow us to remain compliant with HR1 and other things like that that have been coming
053out from the federal government or the state that we will need to be involved with. And I'm really, really excited uh about the veterans update that is coming up after Ashley here in just a moment. And so, um I just want to say to Mr. Chris, thank you so much for being here. I wish you were as excited about my update >> I'M EXCITED. >> [laughter] >> UM MAY IS FOSTER CARE Awareness Month. So, uh if you're a TV watcher, there I will be doing a couple of interviews this month. I know one of them is WCNC and then um if you still happen to read the Enquirer Journal, there'll be an article in the paper. And um another TV session, I can't remember. So, keep your um eyes and ears open, share it on
054social media. We would love to get some new foster parents from the uh media lit. So, do you know the other one? Is there another one? WSOC WSOC. So, there you go, folks. All right, thanks. Michelle, for your amazing update. >> [clears throat] >> Ma'am, thank you for that introduction introduction. Hi, Michelle Veterans Services. I'm just going to do a really short introduction here. I'm so thankful that Peter Crist could join us to talk a little bit about his experience with our office. You know that I'm on a mission to always provide success stories at this meeting. So, he is my in-person success story. So, I'm just going to turn over to him. Uh thank you for having me this evening and I just want to talk a little bit about navigating life is about
055having a good foundation and uh you know, somebody told me one time you can only build as high as you dig deep. So, please keep that in mind. My name is Peter Crist. I retired from the US Army in 2017. Uh 22 years of service. Around that time um when I retired, I embarked on this long medical journey that finally finished in a neurologist's office at the Veterans Affairs Medical Clinic in Charlotte. This was in 2022. And she delivered the news that I have a progressive neurological disorder called Parkinson's and I was prescribed this medicine and and to supplement the dopamine that my body wasn't producing and I was given a pamphlet on and then sent home. So, I struggled for a couple years. I was living with this like major depression along the way
056and I was dealing with some physical and mental pain and uh to the grace of God and my family, I'm still here right now and I still have this story that I know I need to write. So, I decided to take off my armor and I threw away my pride, which military members carry a lot of pride with them. So, I just decided that I was going to be vulnerable and I was going to ask for some help. And um So, I I needed help with planning for my future and uh to include benefits and so many questions. Um I first went to the Mecklenburg County uh Veteran Service Office and uh and I was just treated like a number there. And uh just another veteran waiting in line and I was asking for help.
057And I went through three service officers in a few months there that they were just cycling through. And I finally gave up. Uh I work here in Monroe for the Monroe Police Department and I reached out to the Michelle um through the chief the former chief of police who was a retired chief of police uh Brian Gilliard and um I was welcomed here with open arms. So, uh uh the help that she and her staff provided was very genuine and now I feel so much better about my future. So, thank you, Michelle. Uh the next items that I had to do is I had to get my house adapted cuz I'm progressing um for the future and I had to figure out my own mobility issues, too. So, Purple Heart Homes adapted my house and
058uh for the future and then on I got this email on October 7th, 2024 and it says uh "Do you know a veteran who benefit from a service dog?" And I'm not sure how I got this email, but I know somebody submitted a recommendation letter for me sitting next to me. And then um uh I I know that uh I just had to trust the timing and I hesitated to apply, but I trusted the process. So, Veterans Day, November 11th, 2024, I got this email that says, "Uh you're receiving this gift of a service dog." So, >> [snorts] >> and uh 13 months later, this uh young puppy next to me was trained up and uh we paired up. His name is Prince and uh Prince is my mobility service dog. He goes everywhere with
059me. He goes fishing, he goes camping, he goes to work with me, and he's trained to assist me with falls and freezing episodes and sitting and standing, walking, balance. Uh he pulls me up hills and uh he calms my body and my mind during difficult situations. So, in the army, I don't know if every if any of you've ever heard about this, but everybody has a battle buddy. A battle buddy is like this this peer or friend. Uh we're normally walking the same path or we're the same rank or status, but uh someone you can lean on during these times and Prince is my battle buddy. So, I mentioned foundations and all these along with my family are what I need uh to keep my foundation strong. All these items and the team that I've
060I've built or have helped me uh to be stable. Uh many veterans are in need of something very similar to what I have and uh they're fighting some pretty big battles and the battles that we face inside of ourselves. Uh we have to carry many burdens and carry our scars of war and uh Parkinson's is my scar. Uh my and it's my burden to carry, but I definitely carry it with honor and I'm proud to serve my country. Uh and and thank you all for your time and and and listening to my story. And I'll I'll walk Prince up here so you all can see him cuz I know that's why I'm really here. So, um one of the things I wanted to mention about Peter's case is that he was at 90% service connected
061for a really long time and the hardest jump is from 90 to 100, which is the big one. Um kind of a double-edged sword because it means you're really sick, but then it also means that you're being compensated finally for being that sick. Um so, we did finally get him to 100%, but the only way that we did that was because the VA denied it initially because right now there's there was no like connection for his time in service to Parkinson's. They are connecting it for Vietnam. Um but he's he um Sorry, I'm getting tongue-tied. He exhibited the symptoms prior to separating from the military. And Peter did a great job of going back and docu- and getting that documentation where he was actually put on um What's it called? I forgot already. ET Can't
062do ET? >> Yes, yeah. Whatever that's called. It's got a term. >> Um profile, thank you. Um so, we were able to submit that as evidence and that's what won his final to 100%. So, he was he's always just been a great client and a great guy to work with and he's so humble and just appreciative of everything that people do for him. And I will tell you, I know I'm not supposed to like advertise I'm not really advertising, but Project to Heal gives away one free service dog every year to a veteran. That's got to be at least 20 to 30,000 dollars minimal because it's the dog, it's the training, it's repeat training. He can go back as many times as he wants. It's all the medical, it's all of it's everything. Um and
063Purple Heart Homes, he mentioned, also does renovations for veterans and they're really good about um the application process and just will redo whatever the veteran needs to make their house accommodating for their disability. And here's Prince. >> [applause] >> Should I say something about him? Sure. How long How long have you had him in the program? No. He was trained through the Yeah, I just got Prince in December. Um and he just turned 2 years old last month. So, he's very well-behaved, as you can see. But, his job is to just keep checking in on me and to make sure that I can brace on him and uh he's always ready for me. He does enjoy off time, though. So, he he's not like this all the time. Um but he uh he came from
064Project to Heal. They're a large organization. They donated 60 puppies last year to service dog organizations. So, they uh definitely go above and beyond for veterans and children and adults with disabilities. Any questions of me? And it was right. That was amazing. >> [laughter] >> Like, THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> [applause] >> OH, I FORGOT WE HAVE A VIDEO. >> [laughter] >> I CAME here and I was advised on you know, what I needed to accomplish and we just kind of came up with a game plan of what I needed to supply to continue forward with my my claim and also the supplement to my claim. And it all kind of worked out. It is a process, but [music] that's what I needed help with and I didn't have anywhere to turn to. I just
065kind of had a bad feeling about my future and how I was going to be able to uh support my family and continue to be a provider and I I really needed uh the assistance to to kind of uh bridge that gap where I was and >> [music] >> and uh the Union County Veterans Service Office was was able to help me out and it's it's really helped out how I feel about my future. Thank you, Peter, for coming. That really really means a lot. My pleasure. Oh, I didn't say anything, but um I was just going to mention uh quick update on the hantavirus situation in the United States. Um there was a press release just uh went out today. There was one uh North Carolinian identified. Uh no other information was released. Um
066all the passengers that are on that ship are being monitored for 42 days. Um and um you know, I I think a lot of the information's been out on the media. Um so, it's been well uh publicized um most of the news channels, but we are continuing to monitor that. Do you have anything? So, okay. Uh Chris, great story. 18 years Air Force here. Thank you for your service. All right, any further announcements or public comments? Are they coming? >> [laughter] >> All right, hearing none, I adjourn the meeting. Do we have to Motion to adjourn the meeting. Second. Second. Everybody approve? Aye. Thanks everybody for coming.