GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Tony Leighton who applauds council for approving the new public library.
All cities with a high quality of life have beautifully designed public buildings for gathering – inspiring places to connect, appreciate, grow, and enjoy enriching experiences with each other.
Mediocre cities are impoverished that way.
Guelph's approved and budgeted new public library is an encouraging step for our city toward quality and away from mediocrity.
Opponents still harp on cost. Yet a $20-million parking lot sits mostly empty beside city hall and a $236-million (or more!) public works department facility is to be built on Stone Road.
Neither are investments in our quality of life. Neither will expand knowledge, encourage art, or bring us together, away from our isolating screens.
The new library will do all that, probably for a century or more. It’s for us, for our children, for their children, and for their children’s children.
The new library is an investment in our future as a more valuable place to live. It's city building.
Bravo to the council majority that approved the library. Governing is hard work. City governments have many responsibilities. Investing in value is one of them.
Tony Leighton
