By Stephen Vance, Editor
We can no longer run our towns, cities, provinces and our country as if there is no end to the funding for anything we might desire. New roads, new bridges, new pools, they all cost money, and many such items cost more than we’ve got whether we like to admit it or not. I think the time has come to start some serious out-of-the-box thinking in order to solve some of our future needs.
Take for example the library. Meaford’s library is housed in three floors of an old leaky building with no elevator for those unable to navigate stairs. The space is cramped, the children’s library is in the basement. And though library staff have done an admirable job making each of the three floors as appealing and comfortable as possible, some bright paint, and creative furniture placement doesn’t hide the fact that the building is falling apart.
So what is a small town with limited resources to do? Over the past few years we’ve heard a lot about the need for a new library, however it seems that for many the only proper way to replace the library is to build a brand new showpiece, a mausoleum, a grand structure for all to stand back and admire. And with any luck that grand showpiece would have a view of the waterfront.
Anyone who has driven past buildings like the Town of the Blue Mountains new municipal office knows that Meaford isn’t alone in its desire to do something significant with major project such as this, but what about taking a step backward – a step back to reality – and ask ourselves if building new is really the best option for a small town like Meaford?
We have empty buildings in this town that could certainly be given an overhaul and renovations in order to accommodate the needs of a public library. Some of those locations have been dismissed because of potential environmental cleanup costs, or because the locations aren’t absolutely perfect.
While some of the existing empty buildings in town might not be the most appealing choices for some in order to solve the library issue, there is another possibility if Meaford, and the Bluewater school board were willing to think outside the box – well outside the box.
Before I lay this suggestion out there, I must first say that I am so tired of hearing what “can’t be done” because of some regulation or policy somewhere. Given the social and economic realities of 2014, and given the not so rosy future awaiting us, it is far beyond time to start realizing that what we think “can’t be done”, can, if only we will veer off the course that we’ve been on for decades. That course has preached bigger, better, shinier for years, and our society took the bait and has run with it. In exchange we have governments at all levels clamouring for every penny the can get their hands on because we’ve established a way of life that is unsustainable.
That said, here is a suggestion. There has been talk that one or more of Meaford’s public schools could be on the chopping block in the near future. Of particular concern is Georgian Bay Secondary School which has far fewer students roaming its halls than it is built to accommodate. For that reason there is discussion at the board level about what to do. Obviously closing the school down and busing our kids to Owen Sound would make sense to a school board. That would solve their problem and then they would just need to figure out what to do with a very good but empty building – a building that could very well sit empty for years to come as have others in this town.
But what if Meaford was to sit down with the school board, acknowledge the low occupancy at the high school, impress upon the school board that busing our kids elsewhere is not the preferred solution. But what if we were able to keep the high school open, and also move the library to a more suitable location? Surely if a high school is only filled with half the students it was intended to hold, there must be plenty of space that could be freed up for Meaford to retrofit into a new public library.
The cost to create a library inside empty space in the high school would most definitely be a few million less than the $4 million that has been talked of for several years, and the school board could collect lease payments from the municipality.
No, it wouldn’t be as shiny as a brand new building. No, it wouldn’t have the cache of an architect’s excessive design, but it would solve a problem for Meaford, it would solve a problem for the school board, and it would give Meaford parents the peace of mind in knowing that they won’t have to drive to Owen Sound for a parent-teacher meeting, or to watch their kid in a basketball game.
I know that there are likely a dozen policies at various levels of government that would suggest that something like this can’t be done. But policies that have been implemented don’t need to be forever – tradition gives the illusion of permanence after all. They can change, and they are going to need to change across this continent if we are going to maintain our standard of living as best we are able.
The glory days are behind us. The days of building monuments when all that was needed was a box with a couple doors and windows have proven unsustainable. We must start doing more with less, and we must start working with what we’ve got, not with what we’d like to have.
A side note: This weekend The Meaford Independent celebrates five years since we first launched in November of 2009. Thank you to our readers and advertisers for five years of supporting truly local, independent media!
