DANVERS — CoCo Key Water Resort officials have agreed to tighten security in its arcade while selectmen have agreed to a license change that lets the water resort offer passes to families and groups without them having to rent a room.
"What you have told us makes good sense for our community and your organization, and it makes sense for your business plan," Selectmen Dan Bennett said Tuesday night.
While most of the $20 million indoor water park at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort is over the Middleton town line, Danvers has permitting authority over the arcade because it is down a hallway in a section of the hotel that's actually in Danvers. The resort sits on a hill overlooking Route 1 and Interstate 95.
Selectmen had required the arcade be overseen by someone 18 or older at all times, and some selectmen said that wasn't happening.
Kristin Perry, general manager of the Sheraton Ferncroft and the CoCo Key Water Resort, said the solution will be to hire an additional person over 21 to oversee the arcade. The resort already has two arcade supervisors old enough to watch the room. Security will also be enhanced with the installation of a 911 emergency hot line in the arcade, Perry said.
CoCo Key also plans to post signs that say any child in the arcade under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, Perry said.
Robin Kirk, vice president of operations for Sage Hospitality Resources, which owns and operates the resort, and Ron Sevart, vice president of brand management for CoCo Key, sought a change in the terms of the amusement device license. They asked to be allowed to open the water park to day visitors not staying at the hotel.
Selectmen allowed the park to offer a family pack of four to 15 passes for a four-hour block of time without having to rent a room.
Selectmen agreed to change the license as long as the passes would be purchased in advance on the phone or over the Internet. This rule is meant to prevent people from simply coming to the park and purchasing a pass, something not allowed under the current license.
One condition of the license, that reservations be paid for with a credit card, drew comment from Selectmen Bill Clark. A former teacher of government classes at Danvers High, Clark took out a dollar and read from its face: "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."
"I can't believe a business doesn't take Mr. Green," Clark said.
Kirk said using a credit card allows the water resort to track guests, but he also agreed to drop the requirement to only pay with plastic.
"Our goal is not to tell you how to do business," selectmen Chairman Mike Powers said. He said the licensing would allow the board to respond if something were to go wrong.
"If we see you again, we hope it's in bathing suits," Powers said.
