Lately, it’s seems it just wouldn’t be a Colfax City Council meeting without a protest – and Tuesday night was no exception.

The good news was this protest was peaceful and polite. Even so, the council turned down the protesters’ request.

A small contingent of parents and children, some carrying homemade protest signs, petitioned the council to reconsider cutting funding for the aquatics program at the Colfax community swimming pool.

The latest proposed general fund budget would eliminate the city’s aquatics program as of June 2009. Funding for the maintenance of the pool itself would remain, but there would be no money for lifeguards, swimming lessons or other activities.

“Please find a way [to fund the program],” asked April Dougherty, who carried a cardboard protest sign with pictures of her two children.

She said she would be willing to pay a little more for swimming lessons for her children.

Brothers Logan, 13, and Ryan Hallman, 11, of Colfax told the council they both learned to swim at the pool. They said there wasn’t anything else to do in town except go home and watch TV.

Councilman Josh Alpine conceded the money in question was only about $1,200 to $1,500.

However, the consensus of the council was that it was about time the surrounding community stepped forward in a grassroots effort to form a parks and recreation district that would take over pool operations.

Shawn Wright, swimming instructor and sometime pool manager, pleaded, “Please, keep it open one more year.”

If the pool were closed down, youth would turn into “corner creatures” hanging out downtown, she said.

While she agreed a parks and recreation district would be a good idea, Wright doubted a district could be formed in time for next summer.

“Don’t underestimate the generosity of the community,” Councilman Ken Delfino advised her. He said there are many civic groups that would commit to keeping the pool open.

Shortly thereafter, Elan Vitkoff, better known as a sewer rate protester, volunteered to organize a fund-raiser for the aquatics program.

And when someone complained the water in the pool was too cold, Steve Harvey volunteered to help build a solar heater for the pool.

Although the protesters didn’t get the funding they wanted, the council, city staff, and residents at the meeting made it very clear the pool would remain open one way or another – hopefully under new management.