Resident encourages support of Forbush project
To the Editor:

Dear Fellow Westminster Taxpayer:

Please don't vote against the $490,000 debt exclusion request for library repairs that will be on the ballot on April 1.

I know you are annoyed that we have to spend another $2 million on the library only 10 years after we spent more than $1 million of our money (and $900,000 of the state's money) on a major expansion/renovation. So am I. It seems like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. I know you are annoyed that neither the architect, the builder, nor the clerk of the works, all of whom seem to have done unsatisfactory work, are going to suffer. But the fact is if we tried to sue somebody now, legal fees would cost more than we could recover. We are where we are, and we need to fix the library.

The present plan is to pay for $1.55 million of the $2.04 million price tag for the repair and renovation of the library from receipts from the landfill. The remaining $490,000 will be funded by a debt exclusion that will cost the taxpayers about $120,000 a year for five years. (The debt exclusion number is $490,000 rather than $500,000 because the smaller number simplifies the borrowing process and the costs.) This means that if your property is valued at $250,000, the debt exclusion will cost you about $30 a year for five years.

If the debt exclusion fails, it means the repairs will not be carried out because the availability of the $1.55 million appropriated from "free cash" depends on the approval of the $490,000 debt exclusion by the voters on April 1. If this debt exclusion fails, no repairs will be made, the Library Building Committee will have to go back to the drawing board, and the library will continue to deteriorate.

The library is at the heart of the town. It is used every day by young mothers with pre-schoolers, by students looking for information to do their homework, and by "senior citizens" like me who are looking for a good mystery. I hope you will agree with me that it is worth paying $30 more a year in taxes for five years to have a library that can be expected to serve us well for the foreseeable future.

George Lane

Westminster