My wife and I moved to Falmouth a little over 45 years ago. We feel moving the library from its present location would be a mistake and a waste of money because the 1995 expansion was planned with future on-site expansion in mind.

How do I know? I served two terms on the Board of Trustees, one as president. I was also on the 1993 joint study committee that worked on the expansion, co-chairman of the building committee and chairman of the budget committee.

The fuzzy numbers the town has come up with to support Question 1 make me believe it’s time to be realistic. Can the library really raise $1.25 million in addition to selling the property for $1.25 million in this “mackerel” economy? In 1993 we were hard pressed to raise a little over $700,000. The Pleasant Hill Fire station was supposed to bring in $150,000 but sold for only $127,000. Not a great start toward the $5.6 million needed to fund Question 1.

Sell Plummer, Lunt and most of the surrounding land to a private developer for immediate cash and future real estate taxes. The town shouldn’t go into the real estate business as the owner of a Plummer office building.

The library should stay where it has been since 1955.

Stephen C. Ryder
Falmouth