State assemblyman dives into the debate
By: Courtney Gross
The purchase of and a permit application for a new hot tub by the Princeton Family YMCA has generated waves in the Princeton Health Department and is now boiling over into the office of state Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton Borough).
For the better part of the past year, the YMCA has tried to obtain approval from the Health Department to install and use a new hot tub at its Mathey Health Center.
According to Princeton Health Officer David Henry, the hot tub has not been approved because the department has not received enough information to determine if it meets state code.
The model the YMCA wants to install to replace a decade-old hot tub is a residential unit, which seems to be a hindrance to its approval. Although the state does not mandate commercial hot tubs be used in public facilities, Mr. Henry said it is easier to assure commercial hot tubs meet all of the state’s regulations.
Since the hot tub drowning of a 16-year-old Wall Township resident in the late 1990s, the state has adopted stricter health codes for public bathing that regulate the installation and use of hot tubs and pools in public facilities, the Princeton health officer said. In 2009, the state will again be reviewing its health codes, he added.
"These codes were put in place to protect the public’s health," Mr. Henry said. "We consider the Y a valuable partner in the community, and we will continue to work with the YMCA" to solve the problem, he added.
Representatives from the YMCA declined to comment on the situation.
Assemblyman Gusciora has jumped into the debate, claiming the delay in the hot tub’s approval is costing the Y valuable members.
In a prepared statement released Monday, the assemblyman said he has sent a letter to state Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services Fred Jacobs in hopes of resolving the issue.
The letter, dated Thursday, calls for a clarification of state regulations to determine if the replacement Jacuzzi meets state standards.
The new hot tub, Mr. Gusciora added in the prepared statement, is similar in design to the center’s previous hot tub, and should thus be grandfathered.
"It is unfortunate that the issue has dragged on for over six months," Mr. Gusciora said. "The borough should be more flexible, especially when viewed in light of all the good the Y does for the community."
According to Health Department records from September, the department sent several letters requesting more information to ensure the hot tub was in compliance with state code. Mr. Henry said the situation has not advanced since then and a compromise has not been reached between the department and the YMCA.
The department, Mr. Henry said, has also contacted the hot tub’s manufacturer to determine if the residential model would meet state code. Mr. Henry said the tub’s manufacturer, Hot Springs Portable Spas, indicated through an e-mail to the department that the model was not used for public facilities.
But, Mr. Henry added, it is primarily a lack of information that has backlogged the permitting process.
Mr. Gusciora said Health Department officials continue to waver on reasons for the tub’s noncompliance with state code, which has exaggerated a trivial matter of obtaining a permit.

