1 or 2
Over the past few decades, many town councils have debated whether to renovate our libraries or build one library near the police station on Forest Road. This year and after much debate, the Council approved funding to renovate both libraries. While renovating each library will cost the town less money, does it make sense? The renovations will effectively double the size of each library and make them handicap accessible. The Council also purchased the house next to the Smith Library in order to expand parking. One of the main arguments for keeping two libraries is that each library is located in populated areas where people travel. All the studies show that libraries are not destination places. People go to the library on the way to another destination like the store or post office. Critics say that if the libraries were moved outside the populated areas and placed on Forest Road, the library usage will go down.
Renovations are scheduled to begin this summer so the point maybe somewhat moot but the issue still seems to pop up at every Town Council meeting. If the Council changes their decision now, all the time and money invested in this project is lost.
I believe we should have two libraries, but the notion of centralizing our services and bringing two communities together is a good one. I think the Council should focus on centralizing our parks and making a Town green on Forest Road for community events. I’m tired of the ping-pong each year with our Memorial Day Parade and our Christmas tree lighting.
Note: After I posted 1 or 2 I was informed that the library was again brought up at last nights Town Council meeting. Is it me or did we elect these people as our leaders to make the best decisions for our town? If you can't make a decision and lead, step aside and let someone else who can.
20 comments:
Is it me or doesn't take along time for that ambulance to get to senior housing or Evergreen woods? I'd feel a little bit better if it were stationed at the NBPD area,only my concern on this Northford/\North Branford . Roy
1 or 2 doesn't matter to me. when will they start the process? i would like my child(ren) to be able to use the new facilities while they are young enough to still be interested in going to the library with their parents. there didnt seem to be a hold up on completing the community center and that building already existed. exposing our children to the libray is an experience they will carry through their entire lives.
mach schnell!
Why don't we build one central library and we could build it on the Rivezzi property because the whole Big Y project has fallen apart. The developer is broke and can't obtain the financing for the project!. Just ask the construction companies that were told not to submit their bids because the deal is dead. I hope the council wasn't counting too much on the extra tax revenues for this years budget.
a new library would definately be a destination for me and many others. the townspeople dont see the library as a destination because it never was a place anyone would have liked to journey to... but they could tolerate it as a stop on the way to the post office or the grocery store. renovating the two present libraries would keep it as a stop on the way to somewhere else. have you ever been to the north haven, clinton, branford or guilford libraries? i would call all of them destinations.
I support renovating the libraries. I take my children to programs at the Atwater library, and I think that we should keep one at each end of town. It is more convenient.
Enough already. Residents need to remember that the town purchase the Reynolds House $200,000 to expand Atwater, the town purchased the house next to Smith for $300,000 for the expansion, approved the bonds, architect and concept of renovating the libraries. I think all of the votes were unanimous. My family has missed out on a new library becuase it has been debated for 20 plus years, just like the auditorium. I guess that's the way the Council excersizes fiscal control. Keep changing you mind, nickel and dime to death, and hold off spending the big dollars. Pitiful.
Why one library? To centralize what? People need to see libraries for what they are. They need to be conveniently located with appropriate circulations. One library on a road less traveled makes it less convenient for many resients in town. if we wanted to increase our population in the center of town then the town should not have bought up all of the land for open space in Totoket Valley. I would like to see the valley stay green especially since its in the Farm River flood zone.
Regarding Big Y, I called the town hall, the Big Y project is still moving forward. A building permit application has been submitted. Where did anonymous get the information?
Wow! Looks like the town has plenty of money to spend. $500,000 for two house? Does this mean those houses will be torn down so the land can be used? The town just spent a bankroll on all the farm land on Rt. 22 with big plans for relocating the center of town. I kind of like my open space. Parking lots, soccer fields, ampitheater? Where does it end? Many of the so called improvements over the years have taken away from our small country town.
Why is the Town Council even reconsidering the decision to renovate the 2 libraries? I thought this was a done deal. My family and I use Edward Smith constantly, and have been eagerly anticipating its renovations. We do not want our town's library to become a large, cold, unfriendly institution like I have experienced the few times that I went to Wallingford's and North Haven's. I strongly urge the Town Council to continue to move forward on the original plan of renovating what we have already. Financially, a change in the plans make no sense. Do the people who keep bringing up the one library idea even use them?
It's a good question. Most people that I have talked to who want one library have not been in the libraries for twenty years. It's a good question to ask when you talk to these people. This is the weakest town council that I have seen in my entire residency in North Branford. Rules of procedure don't exist. It is starting to remind me of a bad epsiode of the View. Everyone spouting out their feelings without understanding the topics.
Put it on the ballot at the "useless" budget referendum so the true sentiments of the voters in town can be obtained once and for all. All major projects should be done this way...not simply relying on the Town Council members. I personally think 1 is the way to go. We have all that land now, why not use it to eliminate the Northford/North Branford mindset. Someone else said it previously...it must be confusing for Santa to remember where he has to land, or the Memorial Day participants to remember where they have to line up since these events change venue every year. If we have to replace the recreation/community center in the geographic center of town, why not include the library, town hall, etc. The first post hit the nail on the head. Why is the ambulance building in Northford center and not adjacent to the PD? Because they listened to a small subset of the population instead of looking at the big picture. One of the councilors hit it right on the target, why are we listening to a small subset of the population (current library users) instead of the entire population to determine the long-term best solution?
Maybe we should listen to the "current library users" because that is who will be using them! That would be like building a senior center without listening to the seniors or the people who run programs for them!!
The point is that EVERYONE in town will be paying for the library, not just the people using it. Of course input from the library staff and patrons should be included but look at the ambulance building. Do you want to see another repeat of that situation, where the long-term best interest of the town WAS NOT pursued? They listened to the wrong people and built a building too far north to coincide with the locations in Town that are the greatest call volume.
Another thing...when my kids want to go the library we do that...go to the library. Our libraries are INDEED destinations. We don't go shopping, the drug store, the post office and then the library. We go to the library, get our materials and go home! I'm tired of the argument that the library is not a destination.
All good points. The only difference I see in your comparison is that the Ambulance project had little if no planning and the library has had extensive planning.
Here are some facts that came into play for the original decision on the library:
The Atwater and Smith Libraries are located on properties held in trusts. If the Town abandons the library use, the Smith property would revert to the Northford Congregational Church and the Atwater property would have to be used for some other municipal purpose. The Town, therefore, would be unable to offset any new construction costs with the sales of these assets. Further, the Town would have to repay the Atwater Trust approximately $80,000.
If both libraries are renovated and expanded, the Town stands to gain approximately $2,235,000 in state and local grants. If the Town opted for new construction, the grant total is reduced to approximately $700,000 due, in part, to the loss of grants for ADA compliance and energy assistance. In order to gain the same final square footage proposed through an expansion, the town would need to pony up an additional $3,000,000, which does not include any of the real property acquisition costs.
Aside from greater cost, the proposal would relocate the libraries from the traffic points in town to a location that is less residentially and commercially populated and less traveled. Studies indicate that libraries are not destination places, rather people combined their trip to the library with other activities, such as grocery shopping. Essentially, a central library would be less convenient for most of our population.
One library will not save on operating costs. Circulation purchases are based on population. Whether the circulations are divided between two libraries or combined into one, the circulation budget would remain the same. Additionally, many of our programs in the library stem from the generous donations of time from volunteers and do not cost the Town.
I sure hope that the person who wrote that last comment on 3/27 plans to spell that info out for our town council members before the April 3rd meeting. While you are at, please publish that in the local papers too!
Wow! Okay....hmmm...so if these council members know this information, why are we wasting everyone's time "reconsidering" under the guise of "fiscal responsibility". Is there any chance that someone with considerable influence stands to gain from the development of a centralized library on property they currently own?
Good question. It is interesting that the topic of the Democrat's town committee meeting revlved around how they want more control over the award of contracts, and they're going after the town manager's authority. Keep an eye on the contract awards and who is complaining about the projects. It will explain a lot.
My post from 3/27 is an excerpt from a letter that was published in the Totoket Times in April 2006. It was authored by a majority of the Town Council so the Council themselves should be able to speak to these issues on Tuesday.
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