I realize this is going to be pretty cold comfort to the green shirt wearers among us, but maybe taking a little more time on approving a new Greenfield Public Library isn’t the worst thing in the world.
By now we know that the Greenfield City Council voted Wednesday to table as motion to approve $19.5 million in borrowing authority for the construction of a new library — this, despite one of the most outlandishly aggressive lobbying campaigns in recent memory.
As infuriating as I’m sure it was to the supporters, in the end, tabling was a smart tactical decision intended to ensure the project would live to fight another day. There really was no other choice, because it was clear the nine votes needed to pass weren’t there once Wanda Muzyka-Pyfrom and Verne Sund indicated they would vote “no.”
By the way, heckling Sund during the vote and harassing Muzyka-Pyfrom by email after the vote didn’t do much to raise the esteem of the library supporters in the mind of this reporter or anyone else who happened to be watching that meeting.
But the green shirts would do well to consider the message coming from those two, because I’m pretty sure it reflects the view of a lot of the community’s poorer residents who can’t afford to pay much more than they are to live in this increasingly expensive community.
This dynamic is not a new one in Greenfield. In point of fact, it’s cut across pretty much every public debate I’ve ever seen in this community. From the battles over big box retail, aborted office parks, and even homeless encampments on the common, every public policy debate involving money inherently seems to come down to a battle between the “haves” and the “have nots.”
The people who have the most money in Greenfield often swing the heaviest bats politically. That’s one of the reasons so many of us end up driving to Hadley or Orange Walmarts almost every weekend to shop. It was no different in the crowd Wednesday night.
This might be an outlandish assumption, but I’m guessing there weren’t too many people there dressed in green who are struggling with how to pay next month’s mortgage and car payment. That perception is only reinforced when you look at some of the names on that 1,800-plus signature ad in favor of this project.
It doesn’t make them bad people. Quite the opposite. There are some tremendous advocates who have locked in behind this effort, many of whom have dedicated countless hours to the betterment of Greenfield. And though their lobbying tactics may have seemed a bit over the top at times, their intentions are good and honorable. But that does not change that they are in a much better position to be able to afford this project, and others, than the people Verne and Wanda were advocating for Wednesday night.
That triggers the obvious and somewhat specious counter-argument that this project is completely affordable because it will not require a debt exclusion to fund. And while that’s a strong argument in favor, the reality is that there are people who can’t afford their property taxes right now, and those who are barely able to won’t be for long if the town keeps spending money the way it has been.
That’s what makes this project a little different than other big-ticket initiatives. Unlike with the high school, senior center and parking garage, there is actually an opportunity to defray some of the cost of this project through private fundraising – an effort that has always been promised, but has not really borne much fruit, save for a $25,000 donation announced last week by former City Council President Tim Farrell on behalf of his firm, Gilmore and Farrell Insurance.
Muzyka-Pyfrom said her inability to get an accurate answer about how much money has been raised to date was one of the factors in her decision not to support the borrowing, and I’m guessing if there isn’t a whole lot more progress shown on that front before the next vote, the green shirts are going to have a tough time getting the nine votes they need.
If the community will for this library is as strong as the supporters say it is, they should view this motion to table and the state’s decision to extend the $9.7 million grant approval deadline as an opportunity to show that they are willing to put more than a little of their own “skin in the game” to give Greenfield the kind of library it truly deserves.
And by doing so, they’ll not only construct a better building, but a stronger community as well.
Merry Christmas.