View Full Version : Dividing the community!
Ya gotta love small town politics. Our little town of 13 000 has come to a huge argument over the building of a new library.
both sides have legitimate points, but it is turning into such a sad thing - dividing the town, filling the council meetings, petitions, demonstrations.
I find myself drawn into it, and I have definitely chosen a side. Anyhow just lamenting. Do you get this in your small town?
A new library was a ballot issue here. It included the city and several surrounding townships. I am in one of the townships and voted against it because I never used the library and didn't want to pay more taxes. The issued passed, the library was built and it is great. Bigger, nicer, more facilities, more community use, always something going on - worth the extra yearly taxes. What is the downside in your situation?
People who object have three main reasons:
1) price - they don't want to pay for it
2) location - council has chosen a wonderful site on the water - it is a purposeful decision
3)anti-library - they never go to the library and don't think libraries are important.
Sadly it has all become wrapped around Save Taylor Beach. The site isn't actually a beach, it is next to a beach and is a cliff. Walking paths, benches, etc. will still be there for the public to use.
But there are sure two schools of thought about this issue.
It makes me sad that anyone would protest such a wonderful community asset. I'm quick to carp about my property taxes, but I would never vote against a library. Never. Fortunately, our library levies always pass. The two closest branches to me are 1) brand new, and 2)newly remodeled. I say throw yourself into the fray!
Well I guess I am in the fray, so glad that you think it is such a good idea. I would never not support a new library, but I might comment on price etc. That can all be worked out.
Libraries are the only facility in our area that is 'free', available to all regardless of age, sex, education, culture, agility and interest. People use it for hunting for jobs, a place to rest, a washroom, a safe place to mix with people when you have lost your partner, common meeting place even if you never read a book, etc.
I suppose my question comes to this - if it is not about a library per se, what is the real issue?
Yep, it happened in my small town and I lost a friend over the contraversy. The old downtown library had run out of space, there was no room to expand and the elder patrons complained that parking was hard to find. So the county commissioners decided to move the library closer to the school and put it in a shopping center with lots of parking.
Those who lived downtown (like my friend) were livid--they were happy with the old library and liked walking to it. So the battle lines were drawn.
I supported the new library site as it would better serve the community and was centrally located.
My former friend has not spoken to me in the past several years and will not set foot in the new library.
Sad, but true. Just about everyone else is absolutely delighted with the new library, which is lovely, and now able to offer many more programs to the towns people.
flowerseverywhere
3-7-12, 10:47pm
our library was built after some discussion and it is one of the biggest assets in town. It was build around the corner from the old one on the site of an abandoned mill so it greatly enhanced the appearance of the area.
Our current fight is over a YMCA. At one of the meetings I attended a women whose house was nearby (there will be no houses bordering the actual Y, but some are across the street down a ways) actually stood up and said "We don't want Riff Raff in our community."
A jaw dropping experience.
In these economic times it can sound tone deaf to go after a tax increase to build a bigger better municipal whatever. But perhaps your area isn't hard hit, kally.
My city library is renovating the downtown Central Library for $75 million, but Library administration learned long before the economic downturn that a tax increase for this project would never fly and they were smart enough not to push the issue. The project is being funded by private donations, tax credits, leveraging existing property, and perhaps some of that Obama stimulus money.
1) price - they don't want to pay for it
2) location - council has chosen a wonderful site on the water - it is a purposeful decision
3)anti-library - they never go to the library and don't think libraries are important.
Kally, we get a lot of 1) and 3) here.....in fact our library funding has been cut, as the county commissioners found a way to appropriate the funds that were earmarked for the library in a mill levy several years ago and which were carefully saved by the library district for improvements and maintenance. So now our budgets have been cut more than 50%, at a time when demand for library services are increasing rapidly (borrowing media instead of buying, looking for jobs, perusing the papers and magazines over subscribing, etc.) It's sad and makes me quite angry at times.
The library had already been built when I moved to Pahrump, Nevada in 2003, but I was quickly informed that there had been a giant to-do over whether to build one or not. Many were anti-library, others wanted to see a hospital come to town before a library did, and hardly anyone wanted to pay for it. But it did get built, and it still is a very nice place used by loads of residents of all ages and income levels. I'm so glad it did...I would not have wanted to live in any community without a library!
Bastelmutti
3-8-12, 12:34pm
This is going on in my town over a new school. Seems like a no-brainer, but it's a pretty complicated issue and strong feelings on both sides. I am actually going to vote against. A few people have asked me how I was going to vote & I was honest about it.
Miss Cellane
3-9-12, 8:21am
The library had already been built when I moved to Pahrump, Nevada in 2003, but I was quickly informed that there had been a giant to-do over whether to build one or not. Many were anti-library, others wanted to see a hospital come to town before a library did, and hardly anyone wanted to pay for it. But it did get built, and it still is a very nice place used by loads of residents of all ages and income levels. I'm so glad it did...I would not have wanted to live in any community without a library!
Much though I love libraries and books, the choice between a library and a hospital would be difficult for me. Both are useful to a community, in different ways. I guess it would all depend on how far away the nearest emergency medical facility was and what other options for books there were in the area. That could be a really tough choice.
Where I live, the town library is one of the old Carnegie libraries. The old building is still there, but it has been added on to twice, in the 1980s and the mid-1990s--at this point, it's huge. It's always busy and the main complain is that it isn't open enough hours. Mind you, it's open 6 days a week, 8-13 hours a day, so it's not like they are limiting service.
Most of the expansions were done with donations and fund-raising and a bit of city money. I think they got some state and federal money for the most recent expansion. But people in this town take the library seriously. One family just donated $10,000 to the library, which they are going to use to overhaul and update the heating system.
I love public libraries, and use our nice one here quite a lot.
However, I don't feel that I have the right to use the force of government to coerce my fellow citizens into paying for the library or its operations, and believe ideally that libraries should be supported by philanthropy and use fees.
HappyHiker
3-31-12, 5:18pm
Having been born in Philadelphia, the home of the first free public library, I fully support community funds/taxes being used to support the funding of public libraries. I cannot think of a higher use for my tax dollars. In addition, I'm on the board of the Friends group of my local library and we're very active in raising additional monies through our various enterprises such as re-sale of used books. These days, our free public libraries are struggling with budget cuts and we need to do our bit to help them thrive. They are truly the gems of a vibrant community. (end of commercial)
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