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www.APSPSanDiego.com April 2005 1-800-875-7059

Dear Members: The season is upon us. Everyone is going to have a great season. Meanwhile your board is working on some exciting programs for this year. Juhli Selby Juhli Selby has lined up two great speakers for this month. Salt generation

is one of the hottest trends in our industry and we have a premier speaker on the topic of salt generation coming to San Diego this month.

We had featured a speaker the last couple of meetings that appealed more to the con-struction part of our industry so we wanted to bring in some speakers that would appeal more to the service side of our membership.

Since the correct level of cyanuric acid in a swimming pool has been a topic of debate for years. I lined up a second speaker, Kent Williams. Kent has some good solid scientific research that will help us draw better conclusions.

If your pools use chlorine in any form then you need to be there. Our awards program and golf tournament is shaping up to be the best ever. Expect

some major improvements. See you at the meeting on May 12

Jim King, APSP San Diego President.

Presidents Letter

May 12 2005 APSP General Meeting “Salt & Cyanuric” Red Lion Hanalei Hotel

Jun 26 2005 International Aquatic Foundation Water Chemistry Symposium

Providence, RI

Sept 29 2005 Pool Industry Expo Monteray , CA

Nov 1-3 2005 International Pool & Spa Expo Orlando, FL

Dec 6-8 2005 Canadian Conference & Expo Toronto

Jan 17-19 2006 Mid America Show St. Charles, Il

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http://www.APSPSanDiego.com

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San Diego APSP Board of Directors

Name Company Address (Snail Mail) Address (E-Mail)

Phone Fax

Pager/Mobile

PRESIDENT Jim King Tile Medic 9531 Oak Grove Drive Descanso, CA 91916 tilemedic@earthlink.net

619-445-1034 619-445-1050 619-445-1034

TREASURER A.J Morales Quality Pool & Spa Co. 15476 Markar Road Poway, CA 92064-2313 qualitypools@earthlink.net

858-679-9042 858-679-8900 619-247-7377

CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Rick Church Quality Pool & Spa Co. 15476 Markar Road Poway, CA 92064-2313 qualitypools@earthlink.net

858-679-9042 858-679-8900 619-247-7377

EVENTS Juhli Selby SCP Distributors 9540 Chesapeake Drive San Diego, CA 92123 juhliselby@hotmail.com

858-468-9495 858-467-9488 619-922-3539

SECRETARY Rob Zabel SCP Distributors 566 North Tulip Escondido, CA 92025 robert.zabel@scppool.com

760-737-7665 760-737-7663 760-443-4452

PAST PRESIDENT A. J. Wilson Like New Pool Service, Inc.

10224 Baroness Avenue San Diego, CA 92126-1153 AJW@likenewpool.com

858-695-3461 858-695-3461 619-417-1709

IPPSA Liason Don Wall The Pool Doctor 864 North Second Street El Cajon, CA 92021 dwall0001@aol.com

619-579-9336 619-579-4960

Josh Lawson San Diego Pools 1425 Industrial Avenue Escondido, CA 92029 sdpools@cts.com

760-480-5775 760-480-8962

Billy Howse Watermaid San Diego 6161 El Cajon Blvd—Suite 520 San Diego, CA 92115 billy@watermaid-sd.com

619-583-2357

CLCA Liaison Tom Gharib Swim Service Company P.O. Box 13106 El Cajon, CA 92020

619-579-7655

619-504-2753

Kenny Judd Mission Pools 755 W. Grand Avenue. Escondido, CA 92025-2594 kenny@missionpools.com

760-743-2605x2606 760-743-0384 760-801-4393

NEWSLETTER WEBMASTER Rick English English Pool Consulting

1445 Twenty Eighth Street San Diego, CA 92102 rick@english.net

619-338-9197 619-338-9167 619-331-8389

mailto:tilemedic@earthlink.netmailto:qualitypools@earthlink.netmailto:qualitypools@earthlink.netmailto:juhliselby@hotmail.commailto:robert.zabel@scppool.commailto:AJW@likenewpool.commailto:dwall0001@aol.commailto:sdpools@cts.commailto:billy@watermaid-sd.commailto:kenny@missionpools.commailto:rick@english.net

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.Chemical Application Notification Bill No Pool Threat Now Assemblyman Dean Flores’s measure would have required written notification to all persons who might come in contact with a pesticide before its application. SPEC opposed it because it would have required notices be published in English and Spanish whenever a pesticide was to be applied on public property, schools and parks. Use of swimming pool chemicals would have triggered the notice to be given to anyone in or near school and public park swimming pools. Mr. Flores removed the bill from the com-mittee calendar Tuesday morning. After amendments, it now requires that the county agriculture commissioner to provide written notification to anyone who might come into contact with the pesticide within a mile of an aerial pesti-cide spraying site. SPEC has withdrawn its opposition.

Arbitration Escape Hatch To Be Closed As Califor-nia statute is now written, a qualifier on a construction firm's license at the time the company violates state law, can disassociate prior to the case being submitted for arbi-tration, and thereby escape responsibility for compliance with a subsequent arbitration award. AB 316, sponsored by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), would close this loophole. If signed into law, the measure would hold the RMO, RME or qualifying partner - at the time of the violation - responsible for complying with the award.

Small Claims Court Ceiling Increase Proposed Leg-islation which seeks to increase the small claims court limit from $5,000 to $10,000 is set for hearing April 26th. The measure, SB 422, is opposed by SPEC. The purpose of these lawyer-free-zone courts has always been to relatively informally and inexpensively dispose of law suits involv-ing minor amounts of money. SPEC members report that consumer vs.contractor small claims cases almost always are decided in favor of the consumer without regard to fair-ness. Passage of this proposal would certainly increase a contractor's costs for social, rather than justice, purposes.

Repair Contractor Law To Be Delayed Last year's legislation to establish a separate contractor and dollar threshold for emergency repair work and to make Home Improvement contracts easier to draft and understand is set to become effective July 1, 2005. Following the measure's enactment, technical and legal flaws in the "Notice to Owner" revision were discovered. SB 1113 is intended to correct the problems. Consequently, the CSLB postponed the revisions' effective date until January 1, 2006. SPEC supported the legislation and the corrections being consid-ered. A major SPEC goal in SB 1113 is to increase the emergency contract's dollar limitation from $750 to $1,500. With an emergency repair contract, work could begin im-mediately, and the three-day right of cancellation would not apply.

* AB 1038 (Houston) would create a reputable pre-sumption that a subcontractor is not liable for injuries or damages caused by the work performed entirely by others. It also would limit attorney fees to 20% of an award for pain and suffering in a construction defect personal injury case. The trial lawyers will oppose this measure with every-thing they have. The measure would make it hard to name subcontractors as additional plaintiffs in suits against prime contractors.

(Continued on page 7)

Update from SPEC

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A man wanted on felony warrants and a gun toting operator are among the unlicensed contractors nabbed dur-ing a sting operation in Visalia.

The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is warn-ing consumers about the dangers of hiring unlicensed con-tractors following a successful sting operation in Tulare County. CSLB's Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT), in cooperation with the Tulare County District Attorney's Office, conducted the undercover operation in Visalia on Thursday. The sting underscores the fact that it can be dangerous to invite unlicensed contractors into your home.

The SWIFT undercover operatives called phone num-bers listed in local want ads and invited the unlicensed op-erators to bid on various projects. Eighteen suspects showed up at the sting house to bid on jobs that included house painting, tree removal, landscaping and fencing. When they were found to be unlicensed, 13 were arrested and issued Notices to Appear (NTA) in Superior Court. One civil citation was also given. Violators can face a maximum of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine for a first offense. The fines and penalties keep going up with

additional offenses. During the SWIFT sting, Tulare County District Attor-

ney investigators arrested one suspect that had numerous outstanding felony warrants and another suspect that was carrying a concealed, loaded weapon. "We can't emphasize this enough," said CSLB Registrar Steve Sands. "Always check to see if a contractor is licensed. It is a small step to ensure that the person who works on your home or prop-erty is a law abiding individual."

The objective of these undercover stings, which are conducted around the State, is to level the playing field for licensed contractors competing in the local business area, and to educate and protect consumers from fraud and scam artists.

By law, the CSLB must license all contractors who perform work that totals $500 or more (labor and materi-als). Because of their non-compliance with the workers compensation guidelines, unlicensed contractors often sub-mit lower bids on jobs. If a worker is injured on the job, the homeowner could be deemed liable. And, if a deal goes bad with unlicensed contractors, the homeowner has very few options.

Felonious Contractor Falls for Sting

The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals Techni-cal Committee has reviewed the history, wording, and sub-sequent interpretations of Article 680.26(c) Equipotential Bonding, as published in the 2005 NEC. There are signifi-cant differences in the actual code wording versus the inter-pretations found in the NEC handbook and private industry publications. The APSP Technical Committee Chair, Lee West, sits on the NEC Panel that drafted the new code and is clear on the original intent of the new language.

The conflict pertains to the apparent requirement for an equipotential bonding grid to ‘cover the contour of the pool and the pool deck’. Consequently, some Building Code Officials, have of ‘Red Tagged’ vinyl lined pools, fiber-

glass composite pools, and spas. The intent of the new code was to provide for a grounding plane extending horizon-tally 3 feet out from the pool perimeter. Typically this is accomplished with bonded conductive rebar found in the pool deck. In decks that use fiber mesh, pavers, stone, etc, alternatives are offered to achieve this 3 foot perimeter grounding plane.

As a result, the APSP has submitted a request for a For-mal Interpretation from NEC. The APSP recommends that Building Code Officials and Pool Builders obtain and fol-low the actual code Article 680.26(c) and disregard the in-terpretations until the FI is published. The APSP will com-municate the FI results immediately upon completion.

APSP, NEC and the Equipotential Bonding Grid

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Associated Press News Brief OSLO, Norway A Norwegian family's swimming pool

wasn't just bolted down, it was in the ground -- but that did-n't keep it from being stolen.

When the family visited their mountain cabin over the weekend, they discovered a big hole in place of the swim-ming pool that had been installed 20 years ago. The pool -- 16 feet in diameter -- and all of its equipment had been up-rooted and stolen.

The theft happened between early November, when the family closed up the cabin for the winter, and this weekend.

The woman who owns the cabin with her husband says no one, not even the police, believed them at first

English Consulting Richard J. English

Swimming Pool Consultant 1445 Twenty Eighth Street

San Diego, CA 92102

Pool Inspections • Close of escrow • Forensics Pool Design Pool Sales Training

1-800-864-7946 rick@english.net

www.poolinspections.com

Strong-backed thieves steal built-in swimming pool

mailto:rick@english.nethttp://www.poolinspections.com

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* SB 174 (Dunn) Sponsored by the Association of Trial Lawyers (oops, their new name is "Consumer Attor-neys Association") and would allow an employee to file a class action suit on his own behalf and for other "John Doe" employees and past employees for a violation of the state's minimum wage law if he were being paid less than twice the minimum wags at the time of the violation. The legisla-tion would increase the trial lawyers' natural inclination toward fishing expedition law suits. SPEC has joined other employer associations and is actively opposing this meas-ure.

* SB 300 (Kuehl) would expand the Family Rights Act, which allows employees to take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for immediate family members in any 12 month period, to include care for ill grandparents, in-laws and domestic partners. SPEC opposes the bill arguing that small employers are unable to hold jobs open for extended periods of time while employees care for family members. This bill exacerbates the existing problem with the law and could force many small businesses to fail.

Unfair Business Practices Suits Being Tossed Ac-cording to the Civil Justice Association of California, 11 of the 14 trial courts that have issued rulings since last No-vember's election passed Proposition 64, limiting unfair business competition suits, have dismissed the suits. Says the justice association's president, "The lawsuits being dis-missed are precisely the cases that voters voted to eliminate - lawsuits brought by private attorneys, without clients, claiming any harm caused by the businesses being sued..It is encouraging to see at this early point that the system is working." SPEC actively supported passage of Proposition 64.

270 Days In Jail For Unlicensed Contractor CSLB's Chief of Enforcement Dave Fogt reported that the enforce-ment staff referred 11 consumer complaints to the Los An-geles DA's Office to file criminal charges against Robert Sutton, a revoked licensee, for contracting without a license and multiple counts of diversion of construction funds. Sut-ton took large deposits, did poor work, and abandoned the jobs. The projects ranged in price from $4,000 to $27,000. An arrest warrant was issued for Sutton based on the CSLB's referrals. The DA was not able to find him to serve the warrant. Finally, Sutton was stopped for a traffic viola-tion and was arrested. Sutton pleaded "no contest" to two counts of diversion of funds and two counts of contracting without a license. He was sentenced Sutton to 270 days in jail, 36 months probation and was ordered not to work as a contractor in any capacity. Sutton was also ordered to pay restitution to all his victims. Total restitution: $70,000. SPEC is working cooperatively with the CSLB in identify-

ing unlicensed swimming pool contractors for sting opera-tions. With local DA's finally taking action on criminal complaints filed by the CSLB, enforcement action is more effective in stopping the unfair competition of unlicensed, "cash only" pool contractors. "Not only do these people compete unfairly with us, they are the ones who do serious damage to the reputation of our entire industry and to all law abiding, honest pool contractors," SPEC Board Chair-man G. Bruce Dunn noted. "SPEC had a duty not only to write and enact good laws, but to see that they are vigor-ously enforced as well. The CSLB-SPEC partnership on enforcement is a solid plus for the pool and spa industry in California."

Contractor License Limitation Could Be Weakened The CSLB can now deny an application for a license by a person who has been convicted of a crime that "...is sub-stantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of the business or profession for which application is made." AB 861 would change this to cover only persons convicted of a violent felony. If enacted, a person convicted of any number of "non-violent" crimes, such as embezzlement or diversion of construction funds, could not be prevented

(Continued from page 4)

(Continued on page 11)

SPEC NOTES

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Now service technicians can have the flexibility and convenience of studying at home. Students can pro-gress at their own pace, as their training schedule permits. In the APSP TECH I Correspondence Course, students will be required to complete workbook questions within one year or less and mail them to APSP National to be eligible to sit for the TECH I Exam. TECH I exams will be administered in your APSP re-gion.

Important Facts To Know APSP member students who receive a passing score on the TECH I Exam (75% or higher) receive a

Completion Certificate, TECH I identification card, and TECH I patch. Non-member students who receive a passing score on the TECH I Exam receive a Completion Certifi-

cate and a letter from National with their score. Once a student has completed the TECH I course and received a passing score on the TECH I exam,

that student must wait a minimum of three months before becoming eligible to register for a TECH II school.

The TECH I registration generally expires five years after the issuance of the TECH I certificate. How-ever, TECH I registrations that were issued prior to July 1, 1995, expired on June 30, 2000.

The TECH I registration is awarded to the individual who has taken the class and not to the company.

APSP TECH I Correspondence Course

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APSP General Meeting May 12 2 Great Chemistry Topics in One Night!

“Introduction to Salt Chlorine Generators” & “Cyanuric Acid—Too much of a good thing?”

I f you want to learn the basics of salt, or if you service or “start-up” residential or commercial pools, then this session is for you!

Details Date: Thursday, May 12 Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Place: Red Lion Hanalei Hotel, Hotel Cir-cle

Cost: $5 for non-APSP members, FREE for APSP members

Speaker #1 Sean Assam, Technical Support Director at AutoPilot

Topic: Introduction to Salt Systems—Salt is here to stay! Take this opportunity to learn about

the installation & maintenance of chlorine generators.

Sean recently taught a session on salt at the West-

ern Pool & Spa show in Long Beach. He has been a Florida certified continuing education course instruc-tor for Chemical Feeders & Sanitizer devices, Water Chemistry & Water Testing Methods, Pumps & Fil-ters and AutoPilot Flight School, since 1994. He has taught internationally in such places as Guatemala, Austria, Taiwan, India & Antigua and all over the United States. For more info on AutoPilot visit

www.autopilot.com

Speaker #2 Kent Williams, President of the Professional Pool Operators of America

Topic: Cyanuric Acid Too Much of a Good Thing? The benefits & drawbacks of conditioner/

stabilizer.

Kent Williams has taught the Certified Pool Opera-tor’s Course for 20 years (240 courses!) He is the

founder of the Professional Pool Operators of America, a non-profit registry organization for

certified public pool operators. Kent also offers a na-tionwide consultant & expert witness service. He was

voted onto the Top 100 Who’s Who in “American Aquatics International Magazine”. For more info,

visit his web site at: www.ppoa.org

Formerly known as the NSPI

http://www.autopilot.comhttp://www.ppoa.org

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Using the APSP logos and designations in your advertis-ing and marketing helps build consumer recognition for your company, your products, your services, and your professional identity. It will draw consumers’ attention to your affiliation with the world’s largest organization of pool, spa, and hot tub professionals-the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP).

The APSP Member logo, the words “Association of Pool & Spa Professionals ,” and the initials “APSP” are all regis-tered trademarks of APSP. Any misuse or unauthorized use is subject to prosecution. You must be a member of APSP in order to use the Member Logo.

You cannot alter, adorn or otherwise encumber the logo with other designs or devices. Don’t print the logo over any other graphic design or background. Elements of a printed piece should never be seen through the logo. The logo cannot be incorporated into your own logo. The logo should be used in a subordinate position to your firm’s logo.

When using the APSP Member Logo in your store window or in a display, always set it apart from other visual ele-ments for greatest visual impact. Always use the APSP decals.

On company vehicles, the APSP Member Logo should be located on the door in a subordinate position to your firm’s logo. For vans with sliding doors, the APSP Member Logo should be placed over the rear wheel so as not to be obstructed when the door is open. Consistent and proper use of the highly recognizable APSP Member Logo garners attention. This leads to positive customer response and increased sales.

Use of the APSP logo on your company web site or in electronic publications adds credibility to your message.. Al-though the medium is different, the same standards and guidelines apply for displaying the logo online. They must al-ways appear clear and unchanged. Always use the camera-ready art supplied by APSP. Never have the logo redrawn.

And, do not modify the logo by mixing elements of one size of clip art with elements of another. The logo should never look distorted. To maintain its image quality, do not mix it with other web site designs. To obtain a free copy of APSP Marketing and Advertising guidelines, please contact Denise Smith at (703) 838-0083, ext. 157 or email her at dsmith@theAPSP.org

Many of us are long time users of the website www.mapquest.com. Well now http://maps.google.com has stepped up to the plate. You can get the usual nice looking map and directions. In addition, you can get a satellite photo of your destination (or any other place for that matter). If you zoom in then you can see the pools and the general topography.

I found my pool Oddly, neither Mapquest, Google Maps not Yahoo

Maps can look up a specific address in Rancho Santa Fe. The directions for any address in 92067 just dumps you at the fairgrounds.

A frozen underground "swimming pool" cools the air.

At night, when demand on the power grid is low, an underground rectangular swimming-pool-type system filled with water is frozen, associate biology professor David Becker said. During the day, air is blown across it and circulated through the building -- making it less en-ergy-consuming and about 10 degrees cooler than a tradi-tional air conditioner.

"What that means is that you don't need as much air to cool the building," said Becker, who was chairman of the steering committee for the building.

Where that cool air isn't enough, solar panels near the top of the building generate power to provide addi-tional cooling in the massive glass rotunda.

"You have to cool the rotunda because of the sun -- because it heats up so much. So we use the sun to cool it," Becker said, laughing at the irony.

College officials estimate all the energy-conserving elements will save up to $75,000 a year.

Pool Cools Building

Google Maps

Using the APSP Member Logo

mailto:dsmith@theAPSP.orghttp://www.mapquest.comhttp://maps.google.com

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from having a contractors' license. SPEC, along with the CSLB, regards this proposal as anti-industry and anti-consumer and is opposing its passage.

Alternative Workweek Back For Action Legislation has been introduced to allow individual employees, with the consent of their employers, to opt for alternative workweeks which would allow 10 hour work days so long as the work weeks did not exceed 40 hours, without triggering overtime pay for daily work over eight hours. Under existing law, 2/3 of an employer’s entire work force has to vote to adopt such alternative workweeks. Unions will no doubt oppose this measure, AB 640, which will make passage by a Democratic majority in the Senate and Assembly quite a challenge. "This is an important issue for our industry," SPEC Legisla-tive Chairman Jerry Wallace stressed, "so we are going to push hard for enactment."

Governor Wants 2 Paid State Holidays Cut. The Governor is suggesting that the state will save $90 million in

state salaries and related costs for each paid holiday cut from the present 13 holidays now observed. Federal workers have 10 paid holidays a year. Lincoln's Birthday, which is followed a week later by President's Day, is the second cut the Governor would make. It isn't just the money saved, that has his attention. There is also the major confusion between state and federal holidays created in the court systems; the University of California system, which shuts down on the fourth Friday rather than the following Monday, and the State University system that closes on Thursday! The over-time paid Highway Patrol officers, correctional officers and those who care for the developmentally disabled and men-tally ill for each holiday worked amounts to $10 million.

More News On The Workers' Comp Problem The Workers' Compensation Rating Bureau recommended a rate reduction of 10.4 percent based largely on SPEC-backed reform legislation enacted last year. The rate reduction is only advisory. It requires the approval by California's Insur-ance Commissioner. This will be the third rate decrease since the Governor signed the reform bill, SB 899, a year ago.

(Continued from page 7)

SPEC NOTES

The Arizona Daily Star recently ran a two part article called “Unsafe Pools” The article highlighted mostly pools at apartments, condos, resorts and parks. The health department is closing quite a few of these pools for every-thing from chemical imbalances to faulty gates and other safety violations.

They concentrated on Pima County (Tucson) and found that there were more than 700 closures at about 480 locations from January 2003 through February 2005. There was a detailed list of pools that that had been closed down more than once. Wouldn’t it be great to see one of your pools listed?

The Pima Health Department makes it easy for con-sumers to check out pools. To see pools and spas that are closed each month, go to www.pimahealth.org/chfs/ and click on "consumer health monthly report."

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals re-cently released an updated calendar of Professional Pool & Spa Operator courses, APSP Technical Schools and certification exams.

The Professional Pool & Spa Operator course offers training and certification to operators of public pools, spas and commercial aquatic facilities.

Pool and spa operators seeking certification should enroll in the 16-hour PPSO Basic Course. Instructor can-didates can enroll in the eight-hour PPSO Instructor Course.

The Technical Schools, part of the APSP Service Technician Certification Program, includes the Tech I, Tech II and Certified programs, each of which includes 40 hours of technical training, covering topics such as pool and spa structures, hydraulics, filters and seasonal care. Each level can be used as a steppingstone to earn-ing the CSP Certified Service Professional title.

APSP also offers the CBP Certified Building Profes-sional title to individuals who complete the CBP applica-tion and meet all CBP requirements. For more informa-tion and a timeline on when these courses are available, call 703/838-0083

Don’t miss the APSP gen-eral meeting on May 12.

Learn all about salt genera-tion and cyanurate acid See page 9 for details

PPSO Training Bad Pools on the Web

http://www.pimahealth.org/chfs/

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San Diego Chapter NSPI 1445 28th Street

San Diego, CA 92102-1706

2005_04_nspi_newsletter.pub2005_04_nspi_newsletter.pub