From the Vincennes Sun-Commercial:
...
Yes, attendance at Rainbow Beach has declined in recent years, but we’d wager that has far more to do with the pool’s condition than any drop in desire to go there.
A new pool would mean a new start; built it and they’ll dive in.
On the issue of a lack of fund-raising for the new pool, opponents have a better argument; once the plan became to put the cost on property owners, any urgency to raise money drained away.
There’s still time for supporters to dig deep and come up with donations, but we wouldn’t advise holding your breathe in anticipation of a lot more money being raised in the next 30 days
That’s unfortunate; we hope the lack of private fund-raising doesn’t sink the project.
As for the proposed new pool being too small, responsible public officials have to measure what a community can afford (and is willing to pay) against what a few would like to see, and we think the parks board has done that.
Most of those opposed to a new pool with whom we spoke this week focused their opposition on the cost; $3.8 million is a lot of money.
Breaking that amount down, we found that the annual impact on the property-tax bill of the average Vincennes homeowner (with a house valued at around $78,0000) would be in the $13-15 range.
Certainly those with more-expensive homes would pay more, as would businesses.
But we view an attractive public pool, like a good public school and a first-class public library, as another amenity that provides the city an opportunity to grow.
And those opportunities come at a cost that we just have to pay.
We support a new Rainbow Beach for Vincennes.
http://www.suncommercial.com/articles/2013/04/06/opinions/opinions/doc5160de809ab21836963679.txt
