Letter: New pool will be good for all ages

Published 6:15 am Thursday, October 20, 2022

To the Editor:

We urge citizens to vote yes on the pool bond, Measure 12-85. As retirees, and one of us a retired teacher, we believe that the swim center is essential to our community, where children and adults have very limited options for healthy activities and entertainment.

The swim center will greatly benefit the economy of our county by making it a more attractive place to live, which will increase our tax base. It will also expand on the trails, playground, and sports fields at the Seventh Street Complex.

What will it cost you? The website states: “The estimated tax rate is 70 cents per assessed $1,000 on properties located within the John Day/Canyon City Parks and Recreation District. If you don’t own property in the district, you won’t pay anything, and most taxpayers won’t have to pay that much. It’s important to understand that a property’s assessed value is typically much less than market value. About 70% of taxpayers will pay less than $10 per month, and 33% will pay less than $5 per month.” You can even calculate your individual cost at https://tinyurl.com/cz9bexdc.

Although we live in Bear Valley, and our children attended Seneca School, we used the pool for swimming lessons, exercise and recreation, as did other families from Seneca and Izee. Unfortunately, we live outside of the district, so we are unable to vote in support of this bond. This would be a tax that we would be happy to pay because it is beneficial for all of the people — young adults, families and retirees — of our Grant County community.

As voters, please take the time to learn the facts about the project background, pool design and costs to residents at www.swimcenter.vote.

Adele and Mark Cerny

Bear Valley