McHenry County board split on pool cover rule

A secure, power-operated cover might be the best way to keep a child or anyone else from wandering into an unsupervised backyard pool and drowning.

But it apparently won't be enough for McHenry County pool owners.

A divided McHenry County Board Tuesday voted down a measure that would allow residents to choose an approved cover, instead of the currently required 4-foot fence, to guard their pools.

The board voted 11-11, with two members absent, on the proposal that would amend Article III of the county's existing Public Health Ordinance. Without majority backing, the measure failed.

The result likely came as a surprise to the plan's supporters, who argued that a cover was safer than a fence and noted that it would not require anything out of the great majority of pool owners not already mandated by county regulations.

"This isn't adding any new regulations to someone building a pool," board member Sandra Salgado said. "It's giving them another option."

Opponents had no objection to the idea of pool covers, and did not voice any concerns over their effectiveness. Instead, they said the measure smacked of over-regulation.

Others objected to the timing of the change, saying it would go into effect too late for people buying or constructing pools this year to make a choice.

"We're changing the rules in the middle of the game," board member Peter Merkel said.

There was also some concern about the removal of a prior exemption to the rules for residents whose pools sat more than 500 feet from their neighbors' property. The amendment gave those pool owners five years to come into compliance.

The plan's backers said the 500-foot exemption made little sense since most accidental drownings involve a person either living on or invited onto the property.

"Exempting those pools would be like saying you're partially pregnant," board member Daniel Ryan said. "You're either safe or you're not safe."