LETTER

Really, a smaller library?  

In response to the article in last week’s Bulletin regarding the Lucy Faris Library, it’s disappointing to learn that the city has decided to limit the new building to three floors, one of which will be reserved for municipal offices, as opposed to the six floors we have now.

This means we’ll be losing space, after spending 45 million dollars and waiting more than 4 years for completion.  Currently we have the fifth floor where we can hold consultations and other events, as well as a number of rooms on other floors which can either be used for community activities, meetings, or rented to the private sector.

The city administration says that they can’t justify a fourth floor because it won’t be profitable for over 15 years.  Yet as we’ve seen from previous articles in the Bulletin, other cities have built comparable libraries to what we have planned in Aylmer for less than half the price, and taken less than half the time to do it.  Since so much more is being spent on construction per square meter than in other cities, why are we skimping on what could well be the most important part - a fourth floor to attract private investment, where businesses could rent space and develop the local economy?

Given the library proposal we’ve been presented with, and comparing it to what cities like Montreal, Halifax and Varennes have gotten for their budgets, we really should be able to get a fourth floor for the $45 million and 4 plus years already on the table.  I hope that the city reconsiders its plans, and looks to get a better deal than what’s currently being floated.

Ian Barrett

Old Aylmer