A summer in Fayette without a community swimming pool is going to be a big disappointment for many area youngsters, but one obvious fact remains: The pool’s closure should be a disappointment to a lot more residents if they really want to have the facility open.

Attendance last summer brought in about $5,000, but the total cost of operating the pool—wages, chemicals, lawn care and maintenance—cost the park board $22,000. To pay for a summer season, daily attendance would need to grow by a significant amount.

As park coordinator Scott Wagner mentioned at last week’s village council meeting, there are more than 20 private pools in the community and that’s apparently cutting down on the need for a village pool in the park.

Between tax revenue from the park levy and admissions, operation of the community pool would be covered, but there are two problems with that arrangement.

First of all, where does that leave the remainder of the park program? If nearly everything goes to cover pool costs, there will be no revenue to resurface the basketball courts and no revenue to construct another volleyball court to meet the growing interest in that sport. There won’t be much cash left over for anything.

Next is the issue of maintenance. The pool is more than 30 years old and it’s been patched here and there to keep it in operation. Eventually the maintenance needs are going to go beyond small repairs that village workers can handle. An estimate to tackle the existing needs exceeds $100,000. Neither the park board nor the village has the funds for that.

Park board members made a wise decision to close the facility for a summer and ask voters if they want to support the pool through a levy. A 1.1-mill levy for five years would come close to covering the cost, or much less than that if township residents were asked to contribute.

We won’t be surprised if financial support isn’t found and the pool remains closed. The days of maintaining a community pool in a town as small and financially strapped as Fayette are likely over.