Dear editor:

I have been and continue to be a library patron since I moved here 25 years ago. I supported the ongoing need for a new library. However in perusing our new library from the outside, I question where did fiscal responsibility and functionality go during the design process?

The new building looks beautiful, but what about functionality? Have you seen all the windows on all four walls of the new building? Even the best windows affect heating and cooling values of buildings (future Park County maintenance costs). With all those windows there’s bound to be an increase in bird strikes. With so many windows along outside walls of the building, the shelving space for books would have to be reduced and isn’t that one of the primary purposes of a library? I also read in the Powell Tribune that everything inside the new building will be brand new. What happened to REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE? Surely some desks, shelving etc. are still functional and have use/life remaining in them. Replacement costs add up.

We have become a population with the idea that new is better than old and looks are better than functionality. It seems we no longer look at being fiscally responsible for saving taxpayer dollars from the beginning of the designing of a project through completion even right here in Powell, Park County, Wyoming.

Powell, a town that has become a haven for senior citizens, is in dire need of a new senior citizen center. Building a senior citizen center has been on the back burner for years! I am totally in favor of building a new simple, yet spacious and functional, handicap accessible senior center. The building  doesn’t have to receive architechtural awards to be functional for our seniors. Why can’t we pull together as a community to make this happen? Why couldn’t a building like this be something like a “Habitat for Seniors” type project, with people and businesses in the community donating time, materials and money to make it happen? Even if we ourselves are not seniors, (I am), I’ll bet we know or have a senior in our family who would benefit from a new senior center. If you’re not a senior now, God willing, you will be sometime in the future. 

This community pulled together with the guidance and energy of a few people to raise $120,000 for a glass crusher for Powell Valley Recycling. I realize that is a smaller amount than what it would take to build a senior center, but that sum of money only took a committee and this community a little over six months to raise. I know the people of this community are capable of raising money for worthwhile causes. Aren’t our seniors worth it?

I am willing to help put a small committee together consisting of energetic and thoughtful individuals with expertise in fund raising, grant writing and very importantly, what is needed for building such a project from the ground up. Let’s get it together, Powell!

Marynell Oechsner

Powell