By Brenna R. Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FLORENCE - The printed brochures sitting in the government center lobby now have a black pen line through rule number 10.

"No public breast-feeding" has been crossed off the list of policies for the new Florence Family Aquatic Center after outcry from Florence moms.

City officials decided to eliminate the policy after meeting with the management company that will run the pool, said Parks and Recreation Administrator Vanessa Lenear.

Mayor Diane Whalen said she was surprised by the controversy because "no one contacted the city and said they had a concern and can we talk about this."

The policy was suggested by Cincinnati Pool Management, which has a contract to run the aquatic center for two years, because of issues at other pools it manages. The center is scheduled to open Saturday.

"We are new at the pool game," Whalen said. "We are learning as we go."

Whalen asked for the policy to be reviewed Monday. News of the breast-feeding policy had spread quickly after members the Florence MOMS Club learned about it last week.

The policy change means that Tammy Freeman, a Hebron mother of two, will go to the pool and might even become a member.

"We were waiting to see about that rule," said Freeman, who nurses her 16-month-old son. "Any place that does something like that isn't somewhere we would want to go."

Some things that are banned at the $5 million aquatic center at 8200 Ewing Blvd: smoking, cutoff shorts, coolers and running.

E-mail bkelly@enquirer.com