Support the Construction of Boxford Library!

Support the Selectmen in Moving the Library Project Forward!

Dear Selectmen of Boxford,

A dangerous precedent is upon us, one that negates our voice as voters. A precedent that has serious repercussions to Boxford taxpayers and begs the question, "Why even vote at all?". We ask that you make our vote mean something, and that you rise above the recent zoning board ruling that denies the choice of the majority of Boxford voters.

After years of careful study and debate, Boxford voters voiced their desire to build a new library at 10 Elm Street in the fall of 2010. Voters approved a proposal to build an 18,500 square foot library at 10 Elm Street that enabled 40% of the project to be funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). Residents voted their support for this plan by a 2/3 majority at the October 2010 town meeting, and again by a majority vote at the polls in November 2010.

On October 27, 2011, after working with the library project team for months, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) denied a Special Permit to build this new library (by only one vote) because of personal opinion – not because of facts or evidence regarding zoning issues. This decision was so controversial that two members of the board resigned before the meeting was over. Without a Special Permit, construction of this new community resource cannot be completed.

Because of this subjective action, the town is at risk of losing $2.7 million in state funding to complete the construction of the approved project. Worse yet, the town will have to repay with interest $835,000 received from the state, a significant portion of which has already been spent, as well as additional monies that the town is contractually committed to on this project. We believe it is in the best interest of our town and our future to pursue corrective action on this matter and overturn this subjective ruling.

We fully recognize that that pursuing a corrective course of action on this matter may necessitate litigation in order to continue moving forward with the town approved library project.

As such, we recommend to each Selectman that they staunchly represent the voice of the majority of Boxford residents, knowing that a cooperative and consensus building process was employed to arrive at the current library solution.

We are strongly in favor of the Selectmen doing what is necessary to build the approved, new library for Boxford.

[Your name]