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Make Use of the Old Before Building New
Dear Editor;
It’s a marvel to see that so many government employees have rallied
to support a brand new expanded main branch building for the Bay County
Library System. With so big a building perhaps the various outlying
branches could be closed, but that’s unlikely given the nature of
bureaucracy. It’s about as unlikely that any new tax to support the
building will pass either. The Bay Public Library should take a cue from
the folks at Bay Medical Center and make optimum use of available resources.
Bay Med took over part of Hampton Mall and the former Tepe’s store. Bay
County Red Cross moved to the old National Distributor’s store on
Washington from their former site near the library. Someone told WNEM-TV5
that the old library could become a museum, yet there is already a museum
at the Old Armory near City hall - having moved out of its Center Ave.
location some years before.
Even the South End Branch of the library was located for a number of years
in a Broadway Ave. storefront. It is no located in the former Spiegel
Catalog building on Lafayette. So why not move the main branch to an
existing building? Would that not also bring stability to the downtown area?
There’s the S.S. Kresge building, the Knepp’s building, and the former
International Brownhoist Office Building - all under-utilized structures
that would just need to be made wheelchair accessible. The same could be
said of the old train station, as it doesn’t look like Clara’s Restaurant
is coming - a bonus here being the proximity to the courthouse, jail, and
the TimesS plus, ample parking.
If wheelchair access is an issue, there’s always the former Labadie’s
dealership with the Old Ray’s Food Fair as an annex. Everything would be on
one level, with lots of parking space, plus a service area for the
Bookmobile.
Another possibility would be for the Main Branch to stay where it’s at and
perhaps move the Children’s Library section to an annex in one of the
vacant downtown buildings.
Whatever the case, to tear down the old County Jail would remove a historic
structure which ought to be preserved, or perhaps turned into a Bed &
Breakfast (which it once was, in a way) for the budget-minded, or those who
wish to experience a ‘night in jail’ without it going on their permanent
record. If library patrons want coffee, however, they may get it at any
convenience store or restaurant offering take-out.
Jim ‘Corky’ Korkowski
Fisherville
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