I had a lengthy discussion with the person with the traffic study concern after the Brookfield Village Board meeting Oct 14. After we parted I kept wishing that I asked what he wanted.
He repeatedly said, “All I want is that it [the new library] is done right.”
In his public statement, extensively researched, the Park Avenue resident repeatedly expressed concern for traffic reports by companies with lapsed state registration and cost to the taxpayers. In our one-on-one follow-up discussion, he added his concerns for the foreseeable increased traffic on Park Avenue and for the safety of his children.
This local resident noted that he moved to Brookfield five years ago and that he would love a new library.
As I think about it, I did learn what he wants. He wants a (our) new library but not in his back yard. I don’t really think he wants to spend more public tax dollars by starting over again with a new traffic study company and by delaying the construction schedule.
He just doesn’t want the new library on his Park Avenue block. He acknowledged that he had not attended any of the many public planning meetings held by the library board or library board open meetings pursuing community input.
If our village’s legal adviser thinks the library board’s efforts are in line with state requirements, I urge the village board members to vote acceptance of the new library plans to proceed with their schedule to build.
I would ask the unhappy resident that if we didn’t build the new library on the former Methodist Church lot, where? If he had attended more meetings, even in the five years he has lived here, he would have realized that the library board has been in search of a site for over a decade. The Park Avenue site becoming available was a real gift.
Sandra Baumgardner
Brookfield
