Feb. 5, 2013 — Lassen County’s Board of Supervisors’ plan to find a way to build a public swimming pool takes a giant step forward this week when the Lassen County Swimming Pool Steering Committee meets for the first time at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Lassen County Administrative Conference Room, located at 221 S. Roop St. in Susanville.

The committee — created by a unanimous vote of the board Oct. 9, 2012, includes representatives from Lassen High School, the Susanville Elementary School District, the Lassen County Office of Education, the city of Susanville, the Lassen Municipal Utility District, Lassen Community College, the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce and the Lassen Economic Development Commission — is an advisory committee of the board. Lassen County’s Administrative Officer represents the county and also holds a voting position on the committee.

The committee was established to advise the board on all aspects of the pool project including site, design, governance, operating costs, construction finance and a possible operating cost ballot measure.

Roosevelt Pool, located on Small Street, Susanville and built in the 1930s, was determined to be unsafe and the city closed the facility in December 2004. Some community members have called the pool project the county’s highest priority. This comment may be a wee bit of hyperbole, but in reality the community has been without a pool for nearly a decade, and many residents have loudly called for someone to figure out how to get another pool up and running.

The committee faces a daunting task as a number of different groups and individuals each with its own perspective have weighed in on the pool topic and several different visions have been brought forward. Most of those groups have a seat at the table on the steering committee.

Many, many complicated issues will need to be discussed and resolved before a new pool can be opened for public use, and the newly formed pool steering committee is the right place for such deliberations.

With all the major players represented through their membership on the committee and public meetings that allow residents to attend, participate and offer comments and suggestions, the steering committee should be in a position to hear from all interested parties and offer the supervisors an informed recommendation before the pool project moves forward.

We encourage anyone and everyone with an interest in the pool project to get involved and let your voice be heard.

Public participation remains the key in our representative democracy, but our system only works when the public gets involved.

While it’s easy to praise the board of supervisors for creating this committee and bringing all the major players together, all voices have a right and a need to be heard and considered.

We encourage residents with something to say on this issue to attend the meeting Thursday afternoon so we all can hear what you have to say.

No one will know your opinion unless you share it. This is your chance to get involved with the process, and we hope you’ll take advantage of it.