East Washingtonian - Your Hometown News Source

By Charlotte Baker

As I was breezing through Facebook recently, I read a message by one of my friends (unnamed for privacy reasons) questioning the pool district. I wanted to bring this to people who do not have internet, Facebook, or do not use Facebook, because it is an important consideration. (My opinion follows). The message reads like this (unedited):

So I ask for imput on the information about the pool that Columbia County will be voting on and how it differs from what a different committee had been trying to do to get a pool opened again in Dayton. These are good questions that we need to ask BEFORE we vote to approve this.

Questions we need to ask at public meetings before it is voted on!

This is one person’s thoughts.

.20 isn’t horrible if we want a pool.

The questions people need to be asking the pool organizers are this:

At .20 per 1000, how much will that bring in each year and will it be enough to cover yearly maintenance costs. Those costs are what can keep a community from having a pool. Next: how much will it cost to build a new pool? Will those funds be from grants or will [the]City help with a bond?

It will be much easier to get grants if we have a pool park and rec [district] in place, in fact I highly doubt any funders would be willing to give dollars without it in place to pay for the upkeep of a very costly capital improvement project.

Next: when are public meetings to help community understand what they are paying for? What do the drawings of pool look like? How much to build? What are anticipated costs to operate? Year around or summer only? What programming will be in place to offset operating and maintaining? Who will be responsible for the operation and maintenance?

As far as taxes, most of the taxes we pay come from the state over which we have little to no control. However, the local tax of $0.20 per thousand assessed property value sought for the pool, can be voted in or out.

My husband and I own property in this community and find value in investing in it. It is like providing a well-rounded education for your children to ensure they don’t end up living with you in your senior years because they were not prepped as children to support themselves once they were launched. To me, a pool is an investment in the future of our community and families and children...children’s children and so on. It will determine the very existence and continuation of a healthy, happening town.

Generations before us voted yes on this type of thing, paid their taxes for the betterment of their (now ours) community. It is up to us to step up and do the same.

I was sad to see the park district voted down the first time, but people worried about the money it would take out of their pockets. I don’t see it that way, I see it as potential for healthy growth. It is my motto from the movie, Field of Dreams--”build it and they will come.”

Right now, our community is struggling, not much happening on Main Street, at the school, in our ball fields, and our swimming pool, because there is not a park district to focus on keeping these areas vital. Yes, we can get into the politics of it all, but the bottom line is we must step up or forever shut-up and be happy with not much.