Years after a facilities director at SouthPark Swim & Tennis Club quietly tackled plumbing and electrical jobs without pulling permits, state and county watchdogs say some of that do-it-yourself work created safety risks. The private South Charlotte club is now in the middle of retrofits and inspections, with members saying they want a clearer picture of what went wrong and how it is being fixed.
State boards say unlicensed work posed 'life-safety' risks
Two North Carolina licensing boards looked into the situation and concluded that former facilities director Daniel Pasola handled plumbing and electrical projects without the licenses required for that work. An investigator for the state electrical board wrote that photographs from the club showed “significant fire hazard and life safety issues that need to be addressed and corrected.”
County files reviewed by reporters show Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement has logged seven complaints tied to unpermitted projects at the club since May 2024. Inspectors posted a notice of violation at the property on May 23, 2024, and followed up with another notice in March 2025. Both state board cases ended with court injunctions that barred unlicensed work, but the on-the-ground repairs are still underway, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Tax records and county oversight tell a partial story
Public tax documents compiled by ProPublica list Dan Pasola as receiving $24,437 in 2024 for work connected to the club.
Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement notes that when construction is completed without permits, owners must obtain retroactive permits and pass inspections or stop the work until proper permits are in place. County staff say several retrofit permits at SouthPark Swim & Tennis Club remain open while inspections continue.
The club’s own renovation hub outlines meeting notes, design plans and timelines for upgrades and code-compliant fixes as leaders try to pull all the issues into one larger effort. Those materials are posted under the SPSTC Renovation Project, which the club uses to track progress.
Members say they were kept in the dark
Former member Stephanie Cristiano, who filed complaints with both county and state regulators and later joined the club’s finance and audit committees, said many families had no idea there were problems when they were dropping kids off to swim.
“We were just going to the pool and enjoying it,” she said, adding that she believes a lot of members were not fully informed about the extent of the unpermitted work. Cristiano said she was especially troubled by electrical work around the pool deck and inside one of the club buildings, and that she repeatedly pushed for more detailed records on construction projects and related spending.
The club told reporters it “has complied with every request from the State and the County” and expects to spend about $63,000 on facility projects this year, according to The Charlotte Observer.
What happens next
This year, the county and the club agreed to roll the remaining problems into a single remediation project so that fixes can be handled in one coordinated process. Some of the corrective work has already passed inspection, while other pieces are still in progress.
Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement and club leaders say inspectors will keep visiting the SouthPark property to review the retrofit permits and sign off on repairs as they are completed. Members can follow the paper trail through county records or by checking the club’s renovation page.
Officials say the current focus is on bringing every part of the facility into compliance, rather than treating the situation as an immediate, site-wide life-safety emergency.
