Spokane opened its first municipal swimming pool in 1914 on Mission Avenue, close to where Witter Pool is today. There were two pools actually – one for boys and one for girls, though this gender segregation didn’t last long. The pools were built because Spokane children, seeking relief from summer’s heat, had been drowning in the Spokane River.

The $42.9 million bond issue on the ballot Nov. 6 ballot will pay for the replacement of the city’s five existing outdoor pools and the construction of a sixth outdoor pool in northwest Spokane to replace the two pools that closed at Shadle Park.

The bond will also pay for 10 splash pad water features in parks throughout the city, atonement for removing popular wading pools at city parks. The bond proposal, which needs 60 percent approval to pass, is not perfect. Albi Stadium’s expansion is included, perhaps to make the proposal more palatable to voters who still feel some resentment from what happened in 1999. They voted back then to sell parkland to Wal-Mart in exchange for a softball complex at Albi. The complex never happened.

If the bond passes, a taxpayer with an assessed home value of $100,000 will pay an additional $23.60 a year in taxes.

Pools are often a child’s first encounter with city services. Vibrant pools send the message that adults care for their children’s safety, health and recreation. Pools are always loss leaders. They are expensive to operate and maintain and are open only in the summer, but they build up civic capital among our youngest residents.

And proponents of the bond believe that our community’s seniors will discover the pools anew. Swimming, gentle on aging knees, shoulders and backs, is considered a lifelong sport.

If the bond passes, the citizens committee charged with overseeing its implementation must be diligent watchdogs. And the Albi additions – a skateboard park, BMX bike park, softball and hiking trails – absolutely have to be delivered as promised this time.

Nearly a century ago, city leaders decided that the safety and well-being of Spokane’s children far outweighed the expense and maintenance associated with municipal swimming pools. We recommend a yes vote to continue this important tradition.

Coming Sunday: The Spokesman-Review’s series of endorsements on Nov. 6 general election decisions concludes Sunday with a comment on Spokane County Proposition 2 dealing with emergency communications facilities. Endorsements will be accessible on our blog at www.spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/opinion.