THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702220264
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI GUAGENTI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 81 lines
Hotel owners have won the reprieve they wanted after the General Assembly this week extended the deadline for installing sprinkler systems in Oceanfront inns to Sept. 1.
The bill granting the six-month extension awaits the governor's signature.
Although the extension appears certain, the frenzied pace at which the sprinklers are being installed will have to continue because an unofficial deadline looms: the arrival of tourists.
``The objective over the years has been to be in (hotels) over the off-season,'' said Michael Meehan, general manager for Virginia Sprinkler Co. Inc., which is installing sprinklers in six Beach hotels and negotiating with four others.
``The extension is going to be throughout the height of the season. That's going to pose another set of hurdles.''
Hotel owners aren't ``going to want us in there, but they're not going to have any choice,'' Meehan said Friday.
In 1990, the state required sprinklers to be installed in hotels four stories high and taller that did not already have them. Hotels were given until March 1, 1997, to comply.
Last month, it became apparent that some hotels would not meet the March 1 deadline.
The original extension bill, introduced by Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, only covered hotels in Virginia Beach.
But Del. Clifton A. ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, proposed expanding the proposal to apply statewide after hearing from insurance and tourism lobbyists that hotels outside Virginia Beach were out of compliance, he said.
Del. Glenn R. Croshaw, D-Virginia Beach, agreed, and amended the bill accordingly.
According to city and hotel officials, about 20 Beach hotels still need to install sprinkler systems.
A brief look around the Oceanfront Friday showed work under way. One hotel had a huge pile of debris waiting to be hauled to a landfill. Another had Virginia Sprinkler Co.'s trademark - an orange Dumpster with a yellow smiley face painted on its side - in its parking lot.
Meehan, who has 55 people ``working a lot of hours,'' said it takes his company from four to six weeks to install the sprinklers in a hotel if things go well. It could take up to 20 weeks depending on the site's conditions, he said.
One hotelier who is in negotiations with three sprinkler companies is Dawson Sterling, who owns the Princess Anne Inn on 25th Street.
Sterling was among a group of business owners who lobbied Stolle to introduce the bill granting the extension.
``I was up there begging pretty much,'' Sterling said Friday behind the front desk of the Princess Anne, which he just opened this month on weekends after a four-month hiatus.
Sterling, whose family has been in the resort motel business in Virginia Beach since 1921, said he only needed a two- or three-week extension, but the six-month reprieve will give him enough time to complete the work by June, just before the peak tourist season begins.
He's currently negotiating a price with three sprinkler companies for the work.
Sterling said bad publicity from the unrest during 1989s Greekfest, the soft tourism economy in 1990 and 1991 and a series of hurricane scares in the past three years have hurt his business. He estimated he lost $100,000 over the past two years.
A city spokeswoman said Friday that businesses that aren't up to code after Sept. 1 will be referred to the city attorney's office. The businesses could either be fined or closed until they comply.
Melven Mathias, Virginia Beach's fire marshal, said Friday that he is in a wait-and-see mode.
``We will enforce the regulation on whichever day that regulation comes into being,'' Mathias said. MEMO: Staff writer Laura LaFay contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH/The Virginian-Pilot
The Howard Johnson in the 3700 block of Atlantic Avenue proudly
announces that its sprinkler system is up to code.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOTEL SPRINKLER