Spending $60,000 At The Library

I see that on the Council agenda is a proposal by KPMG to spend $50,000 to $65,000 on professional fees for a Financial and Operational Audit of the Windsor Library.

You know the reason for the reveiew don't you? I don't. All I know is that there is some silly political battle going on amongst the Mayor and Council and the Library Board that is growing totally out of proportion and is costing taxpayers money that could be used for better purposes.

Read the Council Report if you want to see what the audit is turning into. http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=4297

So I got to thinking, what could $60,000 be used for at the Library that made some real sense and actually contributed to the Library and the City.

Aha, the Mayor wanted to solve the youth at the mall problem. I remembered something my daughter was involved in that would have accomplished that purpose but which program was scrapped and never happened!

Teen-friendly library touted;
Windsor Star 02-07-2004

Teen-friendly library touted

A group of Windsor young people is hoping a comfy couch, a big- screen TV and the latest computer games will entice the city's teens and twenty-somethings to hang out at the Windsor Public Library.

After devoting six months to crafting a business proposal, the 14 youths aged 17 to 29 unveiled their plans for a new youth space at the library's central branch on Ouellette Avenue Wednesday.

"It will be a safe environment for teens and keep them off the streets," said Melissa Arditti, 23, one of the project's planners. "A lot of kids I notice are hanging out at the mall on a Friday night doing nothing. Now they could come here."

The space for people aged 14 to 25 will be a separate room near the library's main door with Internet-ready computers, cool books and magazines, a gaming table, motivational posters, a sofa and a TV with DVD player.

Janet Woodbridge, the library's manager of special population services, said the library needs to raise about $60,000 to build the youth space. She'll approach the library foundation and private donors for the cash.

Arditti and her 13 partners drafted the proposal under the guidance of the local Junior Achievement.