SHELBURNE, Vt. -
Mike Serrano was busy getting his Shelburne, Vermont hotel ready for spring on Wednesday.
The Days Inn owner trimmed bushes and got his pool ready.
It's a process that isn't cheap.
To clean the hotel's pool costs nearly $3,000 dollars.
But this year Serrano has to pay thousands more.
That's because changes made to the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public pools to have a mechanical chair that move people from wheelchairs to the water.
"Most of these things cost anywhere from the range of $2,000 to $6,000 dollars," said Serrano.
Money that Serrano says isn't easy to come up with.
"I'm not against it but like I said it's another expense that a lot of hotel lodgings just can't absorb at this point in time," said Serrano.
All the pools were supposed to be up to code by mid-March but that's pushed back until May. But even now some hotel owners say that may not be enough time.
"I don't believe that they can have these things in stock to satisfy all the areas," said Serrano.
Because there are a number of pools.
Between hotels, recreation centers and other operators there are more than 300,000 pools that will need to add the device.
And for some, including Serrano, if the cost continues to rise to meet guidelines he questions whether the pool is a good investment for the future.
