Business & Tech

UPDATE: Finksburg Swim School Closes Following Health Department Violations

The Carroll County Health Department announced last week that the Kids First Swim School in Finksburg has been operating without a permit for 15 months.

The Kids First Swim School in Finksburg has closed temporarily following Health Department reports that the facility has been operating for 15 months without a permit. 

According to a representative at the swim school Monday, the facility will be closed for approximately two weeks. The representative would not give details beyond that. 

Patch has made several attempts to contact someone at Kids First Swim School for a comment, calls have not been returned. 

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-- Original Post --

The Kids First Swim School in Finksburg is currently operating without a permit due to health and safety violations stemming from 2012, according to the Carroll County Health Department (CCHD).

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The CCHD advises residents that the Kids First Swim School, located at 2970 Dede Road in Finksburg, has been operating without a valid swimming pool permit for the past 15 months, due to inadequate control of their pool’s disinfection and other health and safety violations.

Ed Singer of the Carroll County Health Department said in his 25 years with the department, he's never had to issue a suspension notice to a pool facility. 

"Kids First has had ongoing compliance issues since prior to April of last year," Singer said. "It's primarily a combined chlorine problem and they haven’t done anything to fix the violations, they need to close." 

On March 30, 2012, based on numerous inspection violations over the course of several months, the Health Department issued a summary suspension notice ordering the facility to cease operations, according to a news release.  

The swim school continued to operate, according to the Health Department. On August 7, 2012, the Department notified the school of its intention to revoke the school’s operating permit and then on January 7, 2013, the Department denied the school’s operating permit renewal application. 

Kids First requested administrative hearings to fight the Health Department's decision. On May 31, 2013, an administrative law judge issued a decision supporting the Health Department's actions, according to a news release.

Singer said that the administrative process takes time and that just last week the judge issued a decision. 

"We didn't want to go to the press until the owner had a hearing but at this point our decisions were upheld and they are still operating under suspension notice and without a permit," Singer said. "We figured the public should know and decide for themselves if they want to send their kids there." 

According to Health Department officials, the Health Department took these actions to reduce risk to the public stemming from excessive levels of combined chlorine in the pool water as well as other health and safety violations. 

Combined chlorine has been associated with asthma attacks and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, according to the Health Department.

The CCHD and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will continue legal and administrative actions to compel the operator of this facility to comply with regulatory requirements, according to a news release.  

Singer said that in the hearing, the owner of Swim First said that the regulations are unfair and unnecessary. 

"Well we've got 60 other pools to regulate and they are able to comply," Singer said.

Calls to the Kids First Swim School in Finksburg were not returned. 

Have you been to the Kids First Swim School recently? Tell us in comments. 


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