The library, once an integral part of the original Request for Information (RFI) for the “Middletown Center” and in fact, included in the developer’s RFI response, has vanished from the proposal and plat. The purchase of the inappropriate commercial building for $3.4 million was made in closed door session without any regard of taxpayer input.
The “Purchase and Renovation” of the purchased building requires reconfiguration construction for library “use” and is too large to staff, so more than 10% of the building will be used for offices and storage. Review and report of updated financials show the original Financial Analysis of “Cost of New Construction vs. Purchase and Renovation” for the Middletown Public Library are, at best, erroneous.
The Council has recently approved a request to the Bond Council for an $11.4 million “Moral Obligation Bond”. This is Town debt that does not go to the electorate for approval at the ballot box. All this for a project the town has claimed since day one “won’t cost the taxpayers anything”.
The library scheme is only a part of the larger debacle. Please come to the Public Forum 9/30 6 PM at Middletown High School.
Katharine Hallgring
Middletown RI
