Vote "Yes" Today

Hi:

Today is voting day in Ledyard. For today's blog, I've pasted an editorial from The Day on why citizens should vote "yes" for the Bill Library expansion:

"Bill Library Worth The Cost

By Day Staff Writer

Published on 5/16/2006

Ledyard, don't do it again. Don't defeat a measure to expand the Bill Library just to save money ...

Today you have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote yes on the $3.5 million, 8,385-square-foot addition to the Bill Library, off Route 117 in Ledyard Center. The plan will more than double the size of the existing library, and allow for the essential expansion of the children's room, which is currently the size of a household living room. It will also make the building more accessible for the handicapped, add an area for young adults to meet and study and cover the cost of other improvements.

The Town Council voted 8-1 to recommend the library addition to voters, an indication that a cross-section of informed residents understand the importance of the project.

A year ago, a larger, more expensive addition was defeated, but in an advisory, voters said they would favor a smaller, less costly Bill Library expansion project.

So the building committee has been at work, and it's back with a new plan ... Library supporters have raised $350,000 toward the cost of the project, and after planning expenses for the new proposal have $225,000 left to help offset the building cost. They're hopeful, too, that most or all of a previously approved $500,000 state library grant will still be available for the upgrade. The balance will be bonded.

People are tired of paying higher taxes. That's understandable. But the library addition is a cost that can be calculated in more than dollars and cents.

A library is a town's treasure. It is part of its heart and soul. It is a repository of a town's history, a meeting place, and a home for books, computers and other reading materials.

It's been 10 years since the alarm was first sounded that the Bill Library was inadequate, and while there has been talk about what to do, there has been no forward movement.

Today is another chance."

Thanks for voting "yes." You won't regret it.

hrh