I went to the afternoon meeting yesterday, and was pleased to see many other of my fellow Miltonians there too. It felt forced, and the consultants certainly had a lot to do with that vibe; saying they had no real interest in the building's future- granted they are outside consultants, did they really need to voice that sentiment out loud? But I digress...
It's impossible to keep it as a central branch, and we all understand that. Taking that out of the equation the options are: we sell it or lease it, take it down, or keep it as a branch. One of my favourite options out of those presented yesterday was the idea of the Milton Christian School moving there. Milton Public Library was once the Bruce St. school, it seems oddly poetic that it become one again. Another is some kind of Youth/Seniors centre mix. Somebody pointed out the two groups have a lot to learn from one another- in a neighbourhood that has a lot of seniors in it- why not give it to somebody who would use it?
Ideally I would keep it as a Branch library. Milton is growing; arguably it could support a branch in that location. Taking into account intensification the question that kept crossing my mind was: if you're putting extra people into that area, then why take a service away? It makes no sense. If it stays there, I wouldn't cut it to the proposed 6,000 sq ft. I would cut it in half to 8,000 sq ft instead.
Whatever decision this council finally comes to on the Bruce St Library it shouldn't be bound by past mistakes. And in hindsight it was a mistake to open a new one, without questioning what would happen to the old one. But, we still have time to correct it.
