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Elected officials: Put the library where it belongs
Enough was decided during last week’s primary to prompt us to try once again to convince local elected officials to rethink their 2004 library site decision.
Three new commissioners will take office in December, and liquor by the drink is soon to be a reality in Sylva. These two facts, combined with last fall’s changes in the composition of Sylva’s town board, could provide a window of opportunity for county and town elected officials where a new library is concerned.
The selection of the former Western Sizzlin’ Steakhouse site at Jackson Plaza for a library, always a puzzler, seems even more strange now that the supposed final barrier to chain restaurants locating here – no mixed drinks – has been removed. How can it be “smart growth” or any other kind of smart to tie up one of the best – if not the best – location for such an establishment with a government building?
No ground has been broken for a library, and no plans have been drawn. Construction is still several years off, and, given the county’s mounting indebtedness and shifting budget priorities, may be even farther in the future. Historical precedent exists for rethinking such major decisions.
Many no doubt recall that the Justice Center, once slated to be built below the existing Courthouse behind Mark Watson Park, was relocated in the wake of an election that changed the composition of the Board of Commissioners. We think last week’s results could lead to a similar result for the county’s new library.
Here’s our suggestion: Commissioners, with the support of Sylva town board members, who provided one-half of the money to purchase the Jackson Plaza site, should put that location on the market. All money received from the sale should be earmarked exclusively for the library.
With a significant portion of the funds in hand, commissioners should start planning renovations on Courthouse Hill that result in a museum/library facility that would be the envy of small towns across America. The brick addition that most recently housed a jail could be removed, making room for a three-story, modern structure between the historic original wooden jail and our magnificent Courthouse.
Once Jackson Transit and the Driver’s License Office are moved to the Webster Complex, there will be ample parking, and a museum would not require more than a portion of the old Courthouse. And a library does not have to be the one-story box some consultants recommend.
We’d like to urge officials to heed their own advice – to think outside the box – and put our new library where it belongs.
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