So that’s the question, what do we have to be proud of in the Town of Plattekill?

I can think of a couple of things. Felten Community Park. Beautiful park setting, well kept grounds, open for all to use. Built 30+ years ago. We should all be proud of that.

Our Fire Companies, all three of them. All manned by dedicated volunteer men and women who give countless hours of training to protect our citizens and property. They been here for a hundred years, fully supported by the Plattekill community. Anyone watching the firemans parades this year had to feel a sense of pride. I know I did.

Next, the Plattekill Public Library. Just celebrated 50 years of service to the Plattekill community. The Library has and will continue to provide programs and support to young children, adults, senior citizens and everyone in between. And just in case you haven’t heard, the Library is looking to expand with a new building. The current building is a former two room school house built in 1901. The problem, the Library has completely out grown the old building. With the population of the Town growing the demand for programs and services has increased dramatically. We purposely have to have many of the large childrens programs outside during the summer due to lack of indoor space during winter. Also many other programs have limited availability.

For these and other reasons the Board of Trustees decided a few years go to pursue putting up a new building. Some of the goals….ADA easily accessible, very efficient to save on utilities, expanded areas for books, programs and all other activities. All in a well designed nice looking building. The Board also had the task of coming up with an affordable price that could be paid over time to keep residents Library tax affordable. Price for the building $6.9 million and with interest spread over a 25 year bond is 10.9 million. A resident with a $400,000 house in the Town of Plattekill would pay an estimated $150 more per year for their Library tax.

Contrary to what’s been posted, this is a good estimate, not a rough estimate. Once the bond for $6.9 million is approved we can’t change that. That’s all we have for construction of the building. Pre- construction bidding by contractors will give us a good idea where actual costs stand. If by chance these bids come in way over the $6.9 million, we would have to adjust the scope of the building.

Again to be clear, all we would have is the $6.9 million for the construction. As a Board made up of community members, we fully understand citizens concerns. We have heard “ now is not a good time”. Ok….when is a good time ? “Nobody reads books anymore”. We give out over a 1000 books every month to readers. “Nobody uses the Library”. We have 3300 Library cards out. Nobody wants to believe me when I tell them there are people in our Town that do not have access to computers or internet. Its true.

The Library offers many programs and services for free to all who need them. All are welcome at the Library. The building we have proposed is not just for use now….it is also for future generations. So maybe now is the time to come out and support your Library, build something that will be here forever…something to be proud of.