What’s in a name? How about $260,000?

That’s how much Spokane County would make if an area business decides to claim the naming rights to the county’s new aquatic facilities – the one already built on the North Side and the one set to open next summer on the South Side.

County commissioners will decide within two weeks whether to give Doug Chase, director of Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf, the green light to sell naming rights.

Go for it. But first, mourn the passage of the era in which public facilities, such as pools, parks and stadiums, were named after people who worked for the civic good. Shadle and Comstock parks in Spokane, for instance, were named in honor of the families who contributed time and money to park projects. Albi Stadium was named in honor of Joe Albi, who devoted his life to youth sports. Aubrey L. White Parkway commemorates the man who decided, more than a century ago, that Spokane deserved more parkland per person than any other city in the country.

So a moment of silence for the passage of these legacy naming conventions.

Now, it’s all about the money, and throughout the nation, some unglamorous names followed the money. FedEx Field? Continental Airlines Arena? Ameriquest Field? Ah, yes.

But fiscal sense should prevail in lean budget times. Taxpayers deserve the best use of every buck, and Chase’s naming rights proposal makes fiscal sense. Aquatic parks are money drains. Liability insurance costs a small fortune, because thousands of children – with various levels of swimming ability and various levels of parental supervision – spend the day in municipal pools in the summer months. Lifeguards are at a premium now in the Inland Northwest; minimum wage doesn’t attract these coveted teen employees anymore.

The county was fortunate to be able to build their two aquatic facilities without going into debt. The naming rights plan will help keep the aquatic parks financially self-sustaining and affordable for users.

Chase and the commissioners are wise to be careful about selecting the appropriate business to sponsor the water parks. No business associated with alcohol, tobacco or nightclubs will be allowed to compete for the naming rights. The business must be PG rated. That’s sound policy.

The county needs to take one more precaution and hammer out a contingency plan to rescind the naming right if the business runs afoul of the law or offends community ethics.

The Houston Astros major-league baseball team had to buy back its stadium’s naming rights from Enron Corporation in 2002, after the energy company faced a scandal and declared bankruptcy. The stadium’s new name? Minute Maid Park. Ah, yes.