Rudolf K.F. Zeitlhofer
Dear sir:
In regard to the recent controversy about the new Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre, it is apparent that many people do not understand what lies at the heart of the issue.
Simply put, it is a political problem for our town council. They do not comprehend why a library is important to a community and are not in favour of spending money on something they don’t understand.
The political problem arises when it becomes clear that the community is strongly in favour of the new library. Money talks; raising over $832,000 in voluntary donations from a community the size of Fort Frances and environs speaks volumes.
And even more would be raised if the uncertainty created by town council were to disappear.
Over the years, council repeatedly has given the library board the go-ahead to proceed with the project. But when the vision is about to become reality, council gets cold feet. They don’t want the library, but are afraid of the political backlash if they stand up and say so.
So our council prevaricates. But its political antics have descended into farce. Nothing they say or do makes any sense. They claim to be concerned about the cost. So they delay construction, which adds to the cost.
A councillor claims that the project cannot go ahead because circumstances or costs may arise that cannot be foreseen. Based on this logic, councillors must lie paralyzed in their beds every morning, unable to rise, lest some unforeseeable circumstance occur.
Councillors claim the library should not be built because it might be too expensive to maintain. Why should any properly-constructed building be more expensive to maintain than any other? Does the Civic Centre cost too much to maintain? Would it make more sense to maintain a building more than a hundred years old?
One councillor already has gone on record to say that in any period of financial hardship, the library must be closed. He obviously doesn’t realize that a period of financial hardship is when a community needs its library the most.
Another councillor prances around wailing, “Too big! Too big!” Based on no one knows what criteria, he claims the proposed library is too big for Fort Frances. So he proposes to build one that is smaller than the one we have now, which is too small.
Another councillor claims to have extensively canvassed the populace of Fort Frances and finds almost everyone in favour of the new library. He claims to represent the will of the people, and supports the library himself, so he votes against it.
I repeat my earlier comment. WHAT?
Our mayor, from whom we hoped for so much, also supports the library and has said so publicly on many occasions. So he voted against it, as well.
Our town council needs to come out in the open and be honest with the voters. They need to stop pretending to be for the library publicly while working to destroy the project from behind the scenes.
Some people think that the circus comes to Fort Frances only once a year. They are wrong. The clowns perform every other Monday at the Civic Centre.
It’s time to strip off the greasepaint and show themselves.
Yours truly,
Rudolf K.F. Zeitlhofer
Fort Frances, Ont.
