Business owners and health officials clash over above‑ground instructional pools; bill fails

Representative Powers presented House Bill 2090, which would exclude privately owned, indoor above‑ground pools used for one‑on‑one instruction at fitness facilities from the statutory definition of a public swimming pool. Julie Zupancic, co‑owner of a Campbell County fitness facility, testified the instructional pool served a rural need for swim lessons and had extensive safety steps: certified instructors, CPR certification, AED on site, and water testing. "This is not a safety issue. This is a regulatory gap," Zupancic told the committee, explaining variances were denied because construction standards reference large public in‑ground pools.

Co‑owner Tim Zepanzak described the cost infeasibility of building a conventional indoor pool and said their installed structure (he identified the model as the Admiral Walk) incorporated engineered support and an integrated deck. Tennessee Department of Health official Grayson Carter responded that type B pools used for lessons must meet a four‑foot decking requirement for safe rescue and CPR access and that the department could not grant a variance on that item. After questions and committee discussion about structural standards and statewide implications, the subcommittee voted; the clerk announced 3 ayes and 4 nays and the nays prevailed, and HB2090 failed in the subcommittee.