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KANAB - The bikini ban has been banned.
Even before Kanab's soon-to-debut city pool opens, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to lift its short-lived prohibition on two-piece swimsuits.
Instead, the southern Utah city is barring "thong swimwear" - a rule similar to other public pools in the Beehive State.
The revamped regulation comes after the earlier ban, which extended to bikinis and Speedos. That dress code drew jeers from locals and chuckles from outsiders after news accounts spread through the state, across the Internet and around the country.
"This [new policy] changes the verbiage to more adequately describe what we had in mind," said Councilwoman Nina Laycook, who shepherded the new rule.
She said the council removed "Speedo" from the no-no list because it was a brand name and opted to allow bikinis because barring them would prove too subjective.
After Tuesday's 5-0 vote, Councilman Steve Mower joked that he always thought thongs were limited to footwear.
"That is why I said thong swimwear [in the new rule]," Laycook replied.
City Manager Keith McAllister said Kanab's pool could open as early as Monday. The official opening ceremony will be July Fourth at 2 p.m.
The pool, which cost $2 million to be paid through a recreation tax and user fees, has been a long time coming, Mayor Kim Lawson said.
"I've been [mayor] for six years," he said, "and they were talking about it before then."
And, come next week, city officials hope residents and others won't be talking about bikinis anymore .