SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — The Shelbyville City Council is one step closer to bringing back the county’s Dive Team after all 13 divers quit in July.

The team disbanded after they asked a member of the Shelby County Safety Committee to resign for what they said was an overreach of power; he refused to resign. Now Shelbyville is without their Dive Team.

Mayor Jeff Johnson said it is a tough loss.

“With the spring rains and everything else, they do a lot of important things for the community,” he said. “The Dive Team has been recognized as one of the better dive teams in the area.”

After all 13 members left, the community wants them back.

“We want to keep it as few of accidents as possible,” Johnson said. “We want everybody to have a good time. But unfortunately, they are needed sometimes and when it is, they do a very important job.”

The town is now exploring options to sponsor the team. On Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to look into funding their operation.

Johnson said he hopes to get an agreement by the end of the year.

“There are still several things that will need to be worked out, such as the equipment and funding and intergovernmental agreements and things like that,” he said. “We’re just glad that we’re able to take this first step and looking forward to making sure that they’re going to be available sometime in the near future.”

Dive Team commander Austin Pritchard said he is excited about the City Council’s vote, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get the dive team back.