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MARION — Rather than risk a sink-or-swim vote this fall, Marion city officials are opting to “press pause” on plans for a nearly $40 million aquatics center.

Marion City Council members met twice this week to discuss the project, which would have seen a new aquatics center built between 31st and 34th streets south of Munier Road to replace the existing municipal pool at Willowood Park .

The current city pool — built in 1987 — is now facing costly repairs on a near-annual basis, and the aquatics center development was floated as a means of addressing that issue.

However, city leaders on Thursday voted to hold off on the project in light of the overall project cost and recent survey finding

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