Landlord promises changes after crowded college pool party near USC, fire chief says
After drawing attention for a large, crowded pool party at which people were not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing over the weekend, the managers of a Columbia college apartment complex met with local officials and agreed to take steps to keep it from happening again, the city’s fire chief said.
Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said he met with the management of the Palmetto Compress apartments on Monday, two days after he broke up an overcrowded pool party that caused grave concerns because of ongoing spread of the coronavirus. On Saturday evening, Jenkins estimated there were a couple hundred people crowded in and around the pool and on top of a pool house deck.
On Monday, fire officials measured the pool facilities and determined that, under normal circumstances, no more than about 158 people should be allowed at the facilities at a time.
But during the pandemic, pool capacity is limited to 20% — or about 31 people for Palmetto Compress, Jenkins said.
From now on, Jenkins said, “they’re going to make sure that the pool, when it is open, people are adhering to the rules.” He said the apartment pledged to have a security person or manager monitoring the pool when it is in use.
When reached by The State on Monday, a representative at the apartment complex said he was “pretty sure we’re just going to say no comment.”
Jenkins described the meeting with the apartment managers as productive and said they were willing to make corrections. But, he said, his preference would be that the apartment shut down its pool altogether through the end of the season to err on the side of safety.
City leaders already have urged college apartments to close their pools for as long as the city’s public pools remain closed, but some have not done so.
“I understand the need to have fun,” Jenkins said. “However, I think with the situation that we’re in right now, I think everybody’s got to make some sacrifices and exercise safety in the best way that you can. Once we get through this pandemic and look back over it and resume normal life and normal operations, then we can have those fun days again. But they’ll never come if we don’t do this.”
Richland County, home to the University of South Carolina and several smaller colleges, saw a large increase in the number of coronavirus cases reported last weekend, which health officials believe could be due in part to the return of students to college campuses.
Given the influx of students who moved back into town over the past few weeks, Columbia officials recently moved to crack down on house parties by threatening to fine rental homeowners whose tenants are caught hosting large gatherings, with the aim of minimizing coronavirus transmission in the community.
Columbia police officers shut down four parties from Friday to Sunday, according to police spokesperson Jennifer Timmons — one in the Rosewood neighborhood, one in the Shandon neighborhood, one in the Olympia neighborhood and one at the Hub college apartment complex on Main Street. And police officers assisted the fire department with dispersing the crowd at Palmetto Compress.
At four of the gatherings, verbal warnings were given, but no citations were issued with regards to gathering size, Timmons said. At the house in Olympia, two citations were written, as the residents had already been given a warning earlier last week.
Outside of the Palmetto Compress party, “large gatherings seemed to be minimal this weekend, especially compared with a normal year,” University of South Carolina spokesperson Jeff Stensland said Monday.
Jenkins originally responded to Palmetto Compress on Saturday evening because the city received a complaint about a large gathering of people who were not wearing masks. His department’s focus, with regards to coronavirus regulations, has been on enforcing the city’s face mask mandate in commercial areas, he said.
Jenkins said he treated the gathering at Palmetto Compress the same as he would at any other business. Apartment managers and people at the gathering were given a warning, but no citations were issued on Saturday. But if officials are called to respond to complaints again, individuals and the business would be fined, Jenkins said.
Since the city passed its face mask ordinance in June, Jenkins estimates his department has issued about 10 citations to businesses that were not complying. For the most part, business owners have heeded warnings, he said.
Jenkins said he expects the negative attention cast on the Palmetto Compress pool party over the weekend will serve as a warning to other apartment complexes. The owners of Palmetto Compress even asked the fire department to conduct measurements for appropriate capacity at another one of its apartments’ pools, Jenkins said.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
