Letter: Renton Library Project Needs Constructive Dialog

To the Editor:

I usually do not like dealing on the hard edge, preferring a more considered approach. However, after just getting back from a 16-hour trip from the other side of GMT and being up for an untold number of hours, I perhaps did not take too well to what I felt was being force-fed “The Kool-Aid.” From the audience reaction, I was far from alone.

The presentation came across as “Ok, you forced us to abandon moving the library. We’ll fix you by jackhammering your precious Cedar River Library down to the bridge deck, haul it off to a landfill, and replace it with something that is about 70% of what you have now.” What reception is the City and KCLS expecting other than what they got from the majority of those in the audience and will get from library supporters and City of Renton citizens at large?

To another point, “How often do you visit the library???” is not a relevant question. I have never visited the city jail but take comfort it is professionally run. (When I learned they were going to set off a percussion grenade for the Citizens Police Academy, I skipped that field trip…)

I believe what I am reading and experiencing is a wholly inappropriate, arrogant, and vengeful attitude from those with a mostly hidden agenda towards those who believe a city library is part of the heart and soul of a vibrant community.

I am not seeing a dialog that is as constructive and transparent as it needs, should, and is expected to be. I have not seen it in the past and I’m not seeing it now.

Thank You,

Dan Hemenway