Up North Progressive

The primary election for Reed City will have an important millage and bond issue up for a vote on August 5. The first is a millage for daily operations of the Reed City Area District Library. The second is a bond issue to fund the renovations for a new building to house the library located at 829 South Chestnut. There are many excellent reasons why everyone needs to vote yes on both of these ballot proposals.

Public libraries offer more to their community than just a place to keep books. Libraries are media centers which provide newspapers, magazines, documents, and online media. Libraries today are where many people access the Internet. The library is a place to find government documents such as income tax forms. If you want a book and the local library doesn’t have it, you can request the book be sent to you from a different library. There’s movie rentals, family movie nights, reading programs for kids and book clubs for adults. The public library provides space for people to hold meetings and book sales where you can buy books for a fraction of their original cost.

Day to day operations cost money, but it’s an investment worth making for the community. The yearly cost for households in the Reed City library district is equivalent to buying one new hardcover book or one pizza and movie night at home. Keeping the library funded is a value for Reed City.

The second ballot proposal is a bond issue for renovations of a building located at 829 South Chestnut so the library would have a permanent home. Currently, the library is housed in the basement of a building that is part of the county sheriff/court complex on Upton Street. Space is limited there with no room for expansion. The benefits of approving the bond issue would mean more off-street parking, more room for computers, more meeting space, a new teen area, and updated facilities. The library would have access to $75,000 in grant funds to help with the renovations. The cost of this bond issue is one pizza. How many pizzas do you buy in a year? Can you give up one pizza for a new library with more space and facilities? Sounds like a great deal.

Primary elections often have low turnout, that’s why it’s important for everyone to go to the polls on August 5th in Reed City and vote YES on both the library millage and bond issue. Keep the public library funded and provide a new home.