Pool Pity Party

With my husband being a resident manager, it's our responsibility to close the pool every night. Since I love the exercise and the fresh air, I like to go and take care of the pool myself. After I help my hubby put our son down for bed, I head out. The pool is supposed to be closed at 10pm, but most nights I get there about 10:30. I like getting there a little late so that, hopefully, there won't be any more residents in the pool area...it will give them just a little bit more time to gather their things and get out.

Well, the past few times I've closed the pool, I've had to kick out residents. Last week I had to throw out about 6 guys, three nights ago it was a family of three, and last night it was about a dozen residents. Most of them didn't realize the pool was closed, or that the pool even closed at all. After I told one of the guys last night that I was closing the pool, he asked me if the pool was supposed to be open 24/7. If only he looked at the big sign, posted at the pool entrance, before he came in...he would then know that the pool is open from 10am-10pm (and that alcohol is not allowed in the pool area and that you need to wear swimsuits in the pool and not street clothes).

Not only do people not understand the pool rules, but they misuse pool life saving devices. I can't tell you how many times I've had to get the ring buoy out of the pool since some kid was using it.

And the rescue hook is broken from people throwing it around.

Also, I've caught a couple of guys using the spinal board as a diving board.


These items need to be accessible in the pool area (in case of an emergency), but people are constantly taking them and misusing them. I find them in the pool and sometimes stuck in the mulch or bushes. But that's not the only things the residents mess up. Every night my hubby and I have to straighten up the chairs and tables, but it can be hard some nights since occasionally they are at the bottom of the pool. And then there are the times that we know a group of people have climbed the locked fence after the pool is closed. When you straighten up chairs before closing the pool, and they are messed up at 10am when you open, you know someone has been inside.

We have told all of this to the people in the office, but nothing has been done yet. I would love to have a flyer made up about being the proper treatment in and around the pool...but I don't know if it will do any good. I could go and check out the pool a couple of times during the day, but why should I have to? Why can't people just respect pool property? And I wish that we could possibly just close the pool when it's misused, but I don't want to punish the people who actually take care of it or who use the pool rules.

What do you think should be done?