Austin City Council votes to keep municipal pool closed for summer, cancel July 4 fireworks

The municipal pool in Austin, Minnesota, will not reopen and Fourth of July fireworks have been canceled, according to votes by the Austin City Council Monday.

In its meeting Monday, council members voted to close to pool due to costs outweighing any revenue brought in by a late opening, KAAL-TV reports.

Austin resident Cora Wyse shared disappointment with KAAL-TV.

"There's not much to do in Austin already so now there's just nothing really for the summer," Wyse said.

According to KAAL-TV, city officials had voiced concerns that an influx of people from neighboring communities with canceled Fourth of July events could create safety issues in Austin.

"As a city, we've explored a number of different options to figure out is there any possible way that we can make the fireworks work," Councilman Jason Baskin said, according to KAAL-TV. "Ultimately, what we found is that even as we investigated the details of people sitting in their cars and watching fireworks, there became some pretty major logistical challenges."

However, some expressed surprise a decision on fireworks has already been made.

"It seems like it's a ways off and things could change," Michael Hall told KAAL-TV.