The plan to extend the Paint the Town effort to include the downtown awning has been postponed and will not occur prior to next week’s Cedar Cove Days festivities.

And if the downtown merchants have their way, it won’t be done at all.

“I hope this doesn’t happen,” said Mallory Jackson, owner of Custom Picture Framing. “We picked the green color for a reason. A lighter color will not look as good, and will show off the dirt.”

The matter was first addressed by design consultant Heather Cole, who suggested the green be replaced by a lighter cream color that would better show off the stores themselves instead of drawing attention to the awning itself.

After several repaintings, the dark “northwest green” was applied in 2007.

The request to paint it yet again was first made to the Port Orchard City Council on Aug. 11.

It was scheduled to be addressed at Tuesday night’s study session but was taken off the agenda at Cole’s request.

According to City Councilman Jerry Childs, the matter could be addressed in the future, but only if Cole brings it forward.

She is currently on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

In the meantime, the Port Orchard Bay Street Association submitted a petition with more than 20 names of local merchants and property owners who oppose the the idea and favor keeping the current color.

Cole had said repainting the awning would be an extension of the Paint the Town project, which was underwritten by radio personality and Port Orchard resident Delilah Rene.

Cole said Rene was willing to pay for the high-durabilty paint, which is considerably more expensive than the standard exterior paint used for the other surfaces, and that a discount had already been secured.

Cole was invited to a meeting of the association on Thursday morning to discuss the matter.

The Paint the Town project was a private effort, between Rene and property owners.

Repainting the awning, which is city property, will require council approval.