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Plenty of questions, few answers at library public forum

March 31, 2017 | 6

weblibmeetingThe majority of speakers at a public forum about the future of the Aylmer library were in favour of keeping the facility in the downtown core and against moving it into hall space at East Elgin Community Complex.

Organized by The Aylmer Express and held on Thursday evening, March 30 at a near capacity Old Town Hall Theatre, the second floor of the same building that houses Aylmer’s current library, those in favour of putting the library at the Complex were given multiple opportunities by the forum’s moderators to explain the reasoning behind their stance.

Instead, speaker after speaker extolled the virtues of keeping an expanded library in the downtown or provided examples of why putting the library at the Complex was a bad idea.

Other supporters of a downtown library were critical of the financial reasoning behind moving the library to the Complex.

Only two of the four Aylmer councillors who voted in favour of a recent surprise resolution to move the library to the Complex by Jan. 1, 2018 attended the meeting: Cr. Pete Barbour, who moved the resolution, and Cr. Ted McDonald, who seconded it. Only Cr. McDonald spoke during the meeting.

The other two, Cr. Arthur Oslach and Cr. Sheri Andrews, who both confirmed with organizers they would attend the forum, were absent without notice.

Posted in News, News Headlines
  • John Vandermeersch

    Let’s see if I have this correct – out of 13,000 people in the library catchment area, 200 showed up. That leaves 12,800 who stayed home. By my calculations that pretty much renders the silent (and vast) majority irrelevant. Or does it? Maybe, just maybe, the library location is not so big a deal as one might have guessed. Maybe, we should just move on to much more important issues. Perhaps the AE could sponsor a meeting for one of those?

  • Jack Couckuyt

    I truly hope that Mr. Vandermeersch does not underestimate or undervalue the importance of a proper library which can only be had downtown. It IS a big deal for Aylmer, John. The BIA and the MCS do not consider it irrelevant.

  • Tiena Jones

    In response to John Vandermeersch: The fact that 200 people showed up for the meeting on March 30 is significant. The rest of the people who did not come were counting on those in attendance to represent them. Is it not true that for every one person that speaks out or writes to the Editor, ten more people are in agreement? I guess ten people feel like John.
    The issue is important! As soon as someone gets killed coming from the Library at the complex in that beehive of traffic at the exit, it will be important.

  • Larry Jeffery

    My question to my tax clients from the Aylmer region is always a non-judgmental “What do you think of the Library heading to the complex?”
    Only 2 so far have thought it a good idea to fill that ’empty space’ out there with a Library. Over 40 have said they thought it a bad idea, some mildly so and many stating it a crazy idea. So if I have this correct, 95% of those in this admittedly informal pole want the Library downtown. Perhaps all my clients are readers and intellectuals.

  • John Vandermeersch

    It would appear that April Fools’ Day is upon us. Surely Mr. Couckuyt would never choose any other day to make such declarative statements such as “a proper library” can only be had “downtown” And as for Tiena Jones’ statement, okay, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. If the 200 people are to be representative of 10 times that amount we still have only 2000 people in favour of the EECC site. That still leaves 11,000 who, by default, don’t care. Math is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

    I’ll say it again; the library would be every bit as functional in the EECC as it would be in any downtown location – perhaps even more so.

  • John MacKenzie

    I think we need more $$$$ studies. then in a few yrs , we can be right back to where we are now, with nothing gained. speaking as a cashed drained tax payer, I will do my part to help out as much as I can and bring a BLANK CHEQUE to the town hall because this seems to be the way Aylmer operates. IE police,firehall, aerial fire truck, EECC. etc. I hope that building a stand alone library happens in the near future. this tax increase will give me incentive to move south. THANX