Congratulations to the library committee! They completely co-opted Michael Kelly, a reporter for the Berkshire Record, who wrote a front page article in this week's Record entitled "Egremont plans major replacement of library." Mr. Kelly, a bit of spadework would have revealed that the library committee may be planning for a new library, but the people of Egremont are not. Opposition is well over 90%.
Why? Well, for example the article didn't mention cost. The committee is playing that one close to the breast, but the realistic numbers are north of $4 million. That's more than $3,000 for each inhabitant of Egremont. No thanks, library committee, but Egremonters prefer to spend their money on things a bit more modern than a 20th century small town library.
The article says the large size was chosen to qualify for state grants. Come again? First, state grants are not free, they just amount to paying for something through state taxation rather than through local taxation. Second, let me get this straight: if the correct size of a project doesn't make economic sense, make it much bigger and then it does?
News about Egremont and what's going on there, with a particular focus on local government activities. Your comments on postings are strongly encouraged. This blog is intended to be a forum for ideas and thoughts from everyone.
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About Me
- Richard Allen
- I'm a retired New York City lawyer who tries to look to the future with an eye on the past, to apply cold hard reasoning to public issues and to stay true to the basic libertarian philosophy: If something doesn't affect my health or safety, don't legislate it; leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.
1 comment:
I think it's time for the library folk to provide us all with some information. Like how much is the library used? Like what's the trend in usage over the past 5 to 10 years. Like how much do Egremonters use libraries in Great Barrington or Sheffield? If we continue with the library, what's the annual investment we need in books, magazines, etc? How does this get funded?
Maybe we need a library in Egremont. Then again, maybe we don't. We should be looking at this question. Facts would help.
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