To the editor:
Finally, after a lot of work, the library trustees have come up with the right fit for the Library!
We voted down a too-big, too-modern new library last year, but we can’t leave it in disrepair. So this ‘just right’ building plan to raise the roof using the existing second floor with new lighting, added space for meetings, tutor rooms, learning spaces, is the ‘just right’ solution.
Now or never. The cost of delay is about $1 million per year and the cost of delay adds up to box our town out of a decent public library.
Town board service brings a lot of perspective. Some 20 ago, as a young parent, I volunteered with John Smith (Asst. Moderator, ZBA) on the Senior Center Building Committee and the original tree-planting organization, Townscape, with Donald Harriss (Townscape, Historical Society). In weekly meetings they insisted that the town budget always needs to strike a balance — that Lynnfield’s older generation deserves the same attention as our school-age citizens.
That was when a new library was proposed for a cost of $3 million. But we waited. We did invest the town in four schools and a new senior center, uniting both generations.
Some of you might remember Donald Harriss on the floor of Town Meeting talking at length about frugality and pioneer values, such as the value of long-term sacrifice. You might recall John Smith’s baritone voice moderating the overflow room in 2002 as we voted in our new school/town infrastructure with a 14% tax increase — all in one year!
Both old and young supported that town improvement initiative creating a great vibe in town for the last 20-plus years. I believe that if alive today, these Townsend award-winning leaders Harris and Smith would remind us we can support all ages of Lynnfield residents by supporting the library upgrade.
Over two decades ago, the older generation applied an even-handed town-floor process to prioritize which capital projects should go forward. All four public schools and the new senior center won out, leaving the library behind. We tried repairing it over and over. Walls crumble.
Since then schools have been upgraded and expanded, Police & Fire have moved forward, and one capital project is left: lLibrary upgrade.
The last real investment in library space was 1967 when the reading room was built. Think of how the world has changed since the times of black and white TV sets and the Beatles! A major upgrade to the Library will bring the heartbeat back to town center and restore balance between present and future generations of Lynnfield residents. For $208 a year starting 2027, we can retain our town character and our pioneer values, and create valuable state-of-the-art meeting space for study and group meetings.
Support past, present and future generations at Town Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13, by voting YES on the Library Renovation! It is beyond repair, and now is a critical time to invest in the library upgrade.
Our town character and our sense of community is at stake.
Kendall Inglese
Lynnfield
