The town Of Montague currently has three libraries. The Carnegie in Turners Falls, the Millers Falls Library and the Montague Center library. The town wishes to build a new town of Montague library. This will start at $23.7 million.
Here is the first problem. They do not plan on closing the other libraries. The Millers Falls and Montague Center libraries will remain open plus, we can not abandon the Carnegie building. The Carnegie is historic and has to continue to be maintained. Electricity, heat and repairs all still must be maintained until we figure out what to do with it. By the way, there is no plan for this. What’s the point of building a new townwide library if we are not closing and selling the other libraries? Do we really need four libraries? So, if we have to pay for a new library plus, still pay for all the other libraries how is this advantageous to us? I would think consolidation would be the whole point.
How much is this going to cost. Of the $23.7 million, a grant from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program will pay for $11.3 million, the the town will have to pay $12.4 million if it comes in on budget, or more. We will be responsible for the overruns. There are already items not included that are being talked about such as a roof terrace and generator (these two items alone equal approximately $410,000). I’m sure there will be others. What does this mean for the taxpayer? If you own a $326,000 home, your taxes will go up about $159 a year for 30 years.
Here is the second problem. The Franklin County Tech School is building a new school. This is not in the works, this is happening. The cost to Montague taxpayers will be $16 million plus interest. This means your taxes will go up another $200-plus for the next 30 years for the average single-family home.
So where are we at. At Town Meeting, members were asked to override Proposition 2½. Proposition 2½ was voted in to prevent taxpayers from being overcharged. This did pass in Town Meeting with the intent of letting the voters decide in a townwide election for the library. There are 8,444 residents in our town. Of those, there are 5,150 or 61% who are taxpayers. We already pay a lot in taxes in this town (we also have a Fire District tax as well) and these projects will add another approximately $381 to your tax bill for the next 30 years. Don’t forget, we will still be paying for the other libraries as well. There is no monetary benefit here.
There is a very large population of senior citizens (23.5% of town population are 65 and over) who are living on fixed incomes. This will have a large affect on their lives.
Let’s look into the future. The town doesn’t stop here. The wastewater treatment plant will need attention in the future. This will be a major priority. They keep getting small grants to keep it together but, we are losing the fight. When this happens it will be a very large bill to pay (more than the library and Tech school building combined). The roads in this town are in need of major repairs and there is talk of replacing Hillcrest School. The Strathmore building is still standing and I’m not sure what our obligation to that will be with the Brownfields grant.
There will be a townwide vote for the new library on Wednesday, June 24. Here is problem number three. It will not be put on the ballot during the regular town elections. Instead, they will have a special election (costing the taxpayers and extra $15,000). The turnout for special elections is not great (see the point?) better advantage of it passing. When this happens, people need to get to the polls and say we can not afford this.
Want a modern library? Greenfield just built a new one, Erving’s library is new and convenient (especially if you live in Millers Falls) and Greenfield Community College is available.
Please vote no at the special election. Sometimes you have to say no to a grant if it’s going to cause you financial hardships.
Michael Morin lives in Turners Falls.