By Lauren Waters
Correspondent
ALLOUEZ – The request of an Allouez resident led to a lengthy discussion at the village board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in regards to amending the swimming pool fencing ordinance to include automatic safety covers.
Currently, the village ordinance states a homeowner’s pool must be surrounded by a fence, which is also the case in neighboring municipalities such as De Pere and Ledgeview.
Allouez resident Joe Kiedinger is hoping the ordinance will be amended to include the newer technology of a pool safety cover, which is the case in the City of Green Bay.
“We found our dream home in Allouez, but the address is Green Bay. So when we were looking at adding the pool, I went to look at the rules of pools in Green Bay,” Kiedinger said. “In the Green Bay information, they have an exception to a fence around your yard if you have a certified safety cover that is impenetrable and covers any open water.”
Kiedinger showed the board a video of the automatic pool safety cover’s capabilities, which included a man being able to easily walk across the cover from one end of the pool to the other.
The pool safety cover is controlled by a keypad, which automatically locks the cover when a passcode is entered.
The pool cover also only unlocks and opens when the passcode is entered.
Kiedinger shared statistics with the board from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The age of children who drown in pools most are 1 to 4 years old, and the No. 1 reason they drown is lack of supervision,” he said. “It’s not from walking into someone’s property. That’s a very minimal hazard, though it’s important to recognize.”
Kiedinger then brought up the fact that a fence around a house with a pool is not enough to protect those who are invited into the yard or at the house for a social gathering.
“I’m asking that you consider making an exception to the rule of a fence around a yard if, in fact, it is professionally installed as a locking safety product as you’ve seen here,” he said.
When the topic was opened up to the board for discussion, Trustee Jim Genrich asked what the cost difference was between this pool safety cover and a fence around the yard.
Kiedginer responded that each option was approximately $12,000.
Trustee Matthew Harris asked about whether or not Kiedinger’s home insurance company had any concerns with coverage.
“My insurance company had no issues with it,” said Kiedinger. “And they said they actually prefer it because it completely locks the pool in.”
Harris said he had reached out to four local insurance companies in the area to get feedback on the topic, and the responses were mixed, which led him to be a bit wary.
“I’m uncomfortable making the switch,” said Harris. “When there’s no fence, there’s no physical deterrent. And that frightens me.”
Trustee Penny Dart agreed.
She said allowing the pool safety covers made her nervous, but she thought they were safe as long as the homeowners use them consistently and responsibly.
The board further discussed safety, the village’s liability and the individual homeowner’s responsibility, and it decided it was necessary to gather more information on the subject.
Rafter said he was curious about what the City of Green Bay had to say about allowing automatic pool safety covers, as well as the advice from other insurance companies in the area.
Harris added he wanted the board members to get feedback from the other area municipalities that do not have the swimming pool safety covers in their ordinances as well.
After the board agreed other issues needed to be considered, Rafter recommended putting together a draft ordinance to ensure safety precautions were covered completely.
The motion passed.