August 29, 2011
Monday

I have to correct a letter of my own I wrote. I complained that we ran into cost overruns on a library the voters had not even decided we needed yet. In fact, we had not ever voted on if we needed a library -- I think we voted on where to put the darn thing. There was plenty of press, meetings,"friends" of the library round tables and then cleverly put on the ballot as an initiative on where to put it, not if we needed one.

This was mentioned by a few of us but was treated as just short of blasphemy. I in fact was criticized and it was insinuated an uninformed, negligent parent or something to that effect for speaking such heresy. Either way it's still something we are going to be asked to borrow at least a couple million more from the state or whoever thinks a library is a sound and necessary investment to finish.

People just don't need to go to the library like they used to - that's a fact and going to be a hard sell in any circle. How's that working for us to date in getting money to finish it without borrowing?

Election season is upon us. Ask the incumbents to explain the fire station, the new pool, the recreation center roof, library, etc., etc. vs the absolutely crappiest roads in southeast Alaska.

I know I am mixing city, state and borough subjects,but all of the above elections are just around the corner. We cannot pay for what we have going, no matter how many "friends" any of these projects have, without putting the rest of us not considered 'FRIENDS" of these projects in further debt that is harder and harder to justify.

Ask the incumbents seeking reelection what their position was at the time of these decisions, and ask the new guys running how they're gonna dig us out of this hole that we got ourselves into without raising taxes in one of the most taxed cities in America.

So we're clear, I never said.

Charles Edwardson
Ketchikan, AK