Re: Library project trimmed to meet budget (le
In January 2016 I wrote a letter to the Sooke News Mirror, wondering if construction of a new library would begin, as reported, in 2018. Ha. The joke was on me and the hundreds of other library users.
Who knows when a new library will ever open.
In March 2017, after more than seven years of discussion, the library was scheduled to be finished by December 2018 at the Wadams Way site. Unbelievably, a June 11, 2019 press release from the Vancouver Island Regional Library revealed more delays, with tender documents for the project still not finalized.
If this was a private sector project, heads would roll. But given it’s taxpayer-funded and overseen by elected officials who can’t be fired, efficiency, expediency and financial prudence aren’t factors.
While a library may not be quite as crucial to the community as a health facility, the sad tale of the Sooke library’s creation is revealing.
Shannon Moneo
Sooke