PAXTON — In the late 1960s, Kitty Anderson was a Paxton High School student who needed a summer job, so she picked the coolest place in town — literally.

Paxton's newly opened public swimming pool was "the place to be," the 60-year-old Anderson recalled. "The pool was always filled to the brim, and the high school kids did not shy away from the pool at all, because it was brand new."

Nearly half a century later, summers in Paxton aren't the same. The swimming pool — a fixture in the community for 45 years — sits empty, its doors locked.

It is a sad sight for Anderson, who served as a lifeguard from 1966 to '71 and has used the pool since the day it opened, most recently for aqua-therapy.

"But I've been more upset for the kids, who haven't had the opportunity to swim all summer," Anderson said. "It's been the hottest summer on record, and back when I was a lifeguard, the pool was always filled to the brim, so this summer would be no exception."

This summer has been the exception, though, and not just due to the extreme heat. The Paxton Park District board decided this spring to close the pool, after learning that expensive upgrades would be needed to bring the facility into compliance with newly adopted state regulations.

After spending all summer without a place to swim, Anderson wants to make sure next summer is not the same. She and other members of her church — the Federated Church in Paxton — are organizing a community fundraising campaign to raise some of the $75,000 needed to bring the pool up to code and get it re-opened next May. The church hopes to raise the rest by pursuing grants.

"I'm all for it," park board President Eric Evans said. "It makes you feel good that you know there's people in the community who are willing to stand behind you and help you out."

The church is setting up regular meetings to discuss fundraising ideas with anyone interested. The first is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, at the Federated Church, 221 W. Center St.

"The purpose of the meeting is to engage other churches and community members and groups to join us in trying to make this happen," said church member Nancy Taylor.

Added Anderson: "We need to involve the entire community. We lost a hospital because we didn't involve the entire community."

The community can get involved immediately, Anderson noted. The church has set up "Save Our Pool" accounts at banks in Paxton to accept donations. Donation canisters are also being placed at those banks.

Anderson said her church hopes the money raised — in combination with grants — will at least allow the pool to open next summer.

But she has bigger hopes in mind. Anderson said she hopes the community can eventually support the funding of a new pool — which would likely cost a couple of million dollars, park district officials have said.

"If this pool is outdated, we need a new one," Anderson said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be bigger, but it has to be made better so it will last a long time.

"But my idea (for now) is just to keep this going until something else can be reconstructed. For right now, my concern is next year."

The board plans to discuss its options in upcoming months, starting with its meeting at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at the Civic Center, 601 S. Fall St.

Whatever the board decides, the swimming pool situation needs resolved, said Neal McKenry, the park district's recreation director.

"When it's 95 degrees for pretty much a month straight, obviously people are pretty disappointed they don't have a place to come out and swim," McKenry said. "I know that everybody misses it. ... I know it's important. It's been a staple in the community for 45 years."

The less expensive option — to lower the pool's drain to meet state health department safety regulations — would cost as much as $75,000, McKenry said. The cost is up from initial estimates because McKenry has learned that the pool's floor would also need to be lowered.

Grants might help pay for most if not all the costs involved, McKenry said. However, like Evans, McKenry said officials need to determine if putting more money into the facility is a good idea.

"We are not interested in doing a couple-year, short-term fix type of thing," McKenry said. "We want to make darn sure that five years down the road, (the state is) not going to come in and say the pool doesn't meet new standards, and require us to do this all over again.

"So before we actually put together the grant process, we need to decide, firm, what we want to do: repair or rebuild. Obviously, if we rebuild, that's going to take quite a bit longer than repair."

It is possible the park district may not have a pool open next summer regardless of what it decides. McKenry noted that some grants he is aware of would not be awarded until after the pool normally opens.

But McKenry remains hopeful.

"I think we'll come out of this," he said.