Letter to the Editor: Library project misleading

Information about the “library” project has misled the citizen in several ways.

1. The maximum cost is not $30 million but, with financing, $43 million; about 33 percent more than advertised.

2. Older citizens will be paying, through increased property taxes, the remainder of their lives.

3. According to City Manager Randy Knight, the revenue from other uses or sale of the current library building will not be used to offset cost of the new facility; but will, probably, be used for other city projects.

4. Projected revenue from the “event center” will only cover operating expenses. Nothing from the revenue will pay back the cost of construction. That initial cost of the event center and the garage will remain a burden to all citizens; even those who never have need or use of either.

5. This is not a “library” project. This is an event center/parking garage project. It was only labeled “library” because no voter could be against “Motherhood, apple pie, and library.” Funding for an event center and parking garage would probably never pass.

6. The vote to finance this project passed by approximately 50 percent plus 1; barely a majority. If details had been made readily available before the election, it is doubtful if it would have passed. Now that we know more, if the election were today, this project would have been killed.

7. Being only a few hundred feet from the “over crowded, poorly planned” Trader Joe complex, this parking garage is intended to relieve the parking problem there under the guise of providing library parking.

8. The “event center” appears to be the primary focus of the current project. It has been stated that if the “event center” gets overbooked, it is intended that the overflow be absorbed by conference rooms in the library. There is every indication that the “event center” is the prime purpose.

9. Many people are upset over taking of park land/green space for a parking garage and other buildings. These people are justified. Why not demolish older structures and re-use that land rather than removing grass and trees?

10. Are there other areas of our city where the $43 million can be better spent? We started the “undergrounding of utilities” but, now, that project is being slowed for lack of funds. Yet we are moving on to another major undertaking?

Do the people have any recourse at this point? Yes, with an appropriate number of signatures on a petition, a referendum can be put onto the November ballot. The bond issue that passed never mentioned the location of the construction site. That was to be decided by the people later.

This new referendum could deny the city the use of green space for building construction. It could also deny the use of the parking garage for anything other than library patrons. Now is the time for the people to speak up. The city started site prep, without public input on location, immediately after the money was approved. It is crucial for citizens to take decisive action now.

Donald Thompson, Winter Park