As many readers may already know, the Library Board of Trustees recently voted to close the Benton Branch library after more than a century of operation. According to this article in the Belmont Citizen Herald, the recent decision to close the branch is an effort to focus the dwindling library budget on the main branch. Not that closing Benton will free up much cash – Hal Shubin from the Library Board of Trustees said that the money saved by closing the town’s last neighborhood library might translate into some extended Saturday hours over the Summer.
The Benton Branch Library is slated to close. What should the town do with it?
The bigger question is now what’s to be done with the ca. 1892 building that housed the library? The idea of turning into a community center was floated. But there are other options as well – the town desperately needs a new youth center? Maybe some that haven’t even been thought of? I thought I’d put it to the B2 readership in a quick poll:
[poll id="2"]
Right now is not the best time to sell — it’s a down market, the Woodfall Road deal just fell through, right?
And, also, isn’t the choice “sell to balance the budget” not realistic? I thought that proceeds from property sales (rightly) went into the capital fund. The town only owns so much property, this is not an ongoing source of revenue.
So what do we do with it while we wait for conditions to improve? I am not sure. It’s disconnected from the rest of the town offices. Could the police use it?
Here is the problem I have with polls and surveys: the options that are given skew the results as they force responses into narrow answers; on the other hand if you have a totally open response it is very difficult to aggregagate the responses into something that is meaningful.
The Belmont Citizen Herald runs their “just for fun” polls on a regular basis and while I find this interesting, I also feel that the limited and biased choices do not, in any way, advance the dialogue.
Is Soup Kitchen an option? Over half the Town will need it come Spring with all the tax overrides being discussed
As someone who lives a few houses down from the Benton, I am apalled by the fact that some in this town think it is OK to sell a historic property. A sale will not add to the tax base, any funds obtained can not be used for the operating budget and in any case, the buidling is not expected to bring in much money. More, sale will reduce the value of the properties in the immediate neighborhood and that in turn, could well reduce the amount of property taxes paid by the neighborhood.
The people of the Oakley neighborhood supported the Benton and came up with many constructive ideas using the building. Although none were given serious consideration, almost all can still be used even if the building is no longer a library.
The Benton is one of the few historic building in this area and should be preserved for use by the citizens.
It’s too bad the timing wasn’t better for it to be turned into a senior center.
So many people have come up with so many ideas for Benton*. They seem to recognize Benton is an asset, not just the financial kind but as a place and a building. They want it used, constructively.
I think the best use is not mentioned in this poll. It may not be “this versus that”, but a mixed use. We know other towns (Arlington, Wellesley) have succeeded in combining a library with after school care, public use with private. This brings in income while providing public services. Under more attentive management, the Benton branch might already have moved in that direction. It’s not too late to make Benton a town-wide destination for those activities people value.
Benton has been Belmont’s branch library for over 75 years. Of course I prefer it to stay open. But the Library Trustees are very clear: they don’t want it. So the town needs to find a different agency willing to oversee Benton for the benefit of the town.
*Ideas for Benton, so far,
Community center
After school center
Historical Society
Reading room
Music concerts
Arts center
Youth center
Children’s events
Children’s playspace
Senior/residents meetings
Municipal meetings
Trainings
Private party rentals
Business conferences
Polling place
…
I got e-mail from Naomi E. that got me to the site. I see functions similar to the community room at the library. Art exhibits sound good…I work all week and the Homer Building and its hours are completely inconvenient. Here’s mail that Naomi sent:
“A place for the FINE & PERFORMING ARTS that would give us back a very small piece of the Kendall. Wouldn’t it be great to have a place where there might be a weekly or monthly square dance or line dancing, or any kind of dance? Or a place for live concerts, art classes, plays, films (to include a meal and a discussion), evening activities for all ages, book groups & discussions, etc. Maybe it would be a place where there could be chaperoned activities for kids or teens. “
After glancing through the police log for the last several weeks it appears we have battered women in Belmont. Where do they and their children go when they are afraid to stay at home. If we considered making this building a shelter, we could maintain it with grant dollars as well as contributions from the groups that support these. It is a lovely neighborhood and if the community would gather around such an idea, we could be saving lives or at the least, futures.
Anne