Sharon has taken a misstep in its oversight of library upgrade

Why would a town deliberately allow a valuable and useful public resource to deteriorate and become less and less viable? What reasoning can support such behavior? (See story, Page A1.)

The Zoning Board of Appeals of Sharon has taken a step that is only the most recent in a long string of actions over years that have kept the town’s Hotchkiss Library from renovation and expansion. Three times, three different library boards have attempted to update the library to make it more accessible to more people, and to hold more books, computers, movies and music,  to make it more useful for all in the community.

Three times there has been a range of reasons given for the denials. This time the concern appears to have been based on the belief that approving a variance allowing the current library board’s proposal to go forward could lead to other uncontrolled building, including, for example, the possibility of a Wal-Mart on the Sharon Green. Really, doesn’t that seem reactionary? Can anyone believe that the members of the Hotchkiss Library board have a secret agenda to cooperate with a multi-national corporation to bring in a gigantic retail store to the center of their small town? Additionally, neither Wal-Mart nor any other big-box store chain would want to build a store in an area with such limited population density as Sharon’s, especially in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

And, wouldn’t any entity that wanted to build on the Sharon Green, or anywhere in Sharon, for that matter, have to obtain permits and approvals before proceeding? Town growth is controlled with the current planning and zoning regulations, and there is no reason for town officials or residents to believe they will suddenly lose control over that growth.

In preparing their plans for library upgrades, the library board covered all the bases, informing the public step by step of the evolution of the planning leading to the current proposal. They acquired a $1 million grant, and worked with the architectural firm to create a plan that would allow for the most efficient and economical renovation and expansion. All along the way, public meetings bringing the project forward to its next step were open to all in the community. Anyone could have stepped in with additional ideas or criticisms, at any point in the planning.

Meanwhile, just across the state line in Millerton, N.Y., the NorthEast-Millerton Library has continued a progression of initiatives that has made that public library handicapped accessible, larger, more attractive and more efficient to modern use, purchasing a church adjacent to their property. This will allow them to expand, a goal they have been working toward for years. The president of the library’s board of trustees, Diane Price, is quoted in last week’s Millerton News as saying, "I’m walking on air." And Midge Quick, the director of the library, said, "I’m thrilled, because in the future the library can stay in its present location... I’ve seen other libraries not able to expand, and then have to go to other locations that throw them out of the center of the town or village..." NorthEast-Millerton Library has increased its circulation and its collection, according to Quick, every year. This is the definition of a viable public service, one that is able to respond to the needs of those who use it and plan toward the future to keep the service available and accessible to its community.

The reasoning behind keeping Sharon’s public library too small and too difficult to access eludes this newspaper. The approach of Millerton’s board of trustees has been supported by their town and village officials. Perhaps Sharon town officials could look across the state line for some inspiration, and find a way to support the hard-working volunteers on their library board who have developed a good plan for financing and creating an updated library for their town residents to use.