Dear Mayor Guthrie and Members of Guelph Council
Later this week you will be asked to make a decision regarding the new Central Main Library for Guelph. The decision you make will have ramifications for many years to come.
It seems to me that the decision is a fairly straightforward one: does the current Central Main Library meet the requirements of the citizens of Guelph? The answer is clearly no, and this is not even in dispute.
The building is old, run down, and too small. At great expense, systems and infrastructure of the current building could be updated, but it would still be too small, so it would be a waste of money that is already in short supply. Council has voted on more than one occasion to support the project to build a new library because council has recognized that this is the wisest use of the city’s funds.
I am sure that the last few months have been very challenging for the city, just as they have been tough, emotionally and financially, on the citizens of Guelph, but that is no excuse to abandon the new library. Libraries provide much needed services to a city’s citizens, particularly those with limited personal financial resources, so now is not the time to consider not building a new library, or even building a smaller version.
The current recommended size of 88,000 sq. ft. was arrived at through extensive study and analysis, using external consultants, as the most basic size required by Guelph, so to build something smaller and inadequate would be a waste of the money spent, similar to trying to refurbish the current building. It would simply not be able to provide the essential services required by so many of Guelph’s citizens, from the very young to the elderly.
We have lived in Guelph for 22 years, and for all of those 22 years the city has been discussing building a new Central Main Library to meet the needs of Guelph. Now is the time to be the council that finally gets it done. You can make it happen with a small tax levy of only 0.39%! On average, this works out to $14.65 annually per household…less than the cost of one average book. You can be remembered as the major and council that had the foresight and vision to finally build the new Central Main Library that is so desperately needed. Please, please, please, make it happen…for the future of Guelph!!!!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Brad W. Maybee
