Athabasca County council threw down a gauntlet of sorts last week, suggesting to their Town of Athabasca colleagues that a new library ought to be constructed at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex.
Actually, it’s more than simply a suggestion; coupled with the financial carrot the county council is dangling, it stops just short of an insistence.
Put the new library at the jointly-owned multiplex, the county proposes, and we’ll help pay to build it. Put it downtown or elsewhere, and you’re on your own.
There’s unquestionable logic behind the county’s position: both a new swimming pool and a new library have been identified as priority projects, and it would undoubtedly be cheaper to combine them within the existing multiplex than it would be to build both from scratch.
However, there’s far more at play here than simply the cost of construction. Of significant importance is the question of to what extent community services should be centralized at the multiplex. And on that point, town and county councillors seem to have differing perspectives.
Town council has reached consensus that a downtown library is preferable, as it is more convenient for seniors and other town residents living nearby, and helps to maintain the vibrancy of the downtown core.
County council, on the other hand, seems to realize that its ratepayers will have to travel into town to access the library, regardless of its location. Whether it’s downtown or at the multiplex makes little difference; they just want it done as cheaply as possible.
Missing from the discussion is a regional perspective; a viewpoint that eliminates the political boundary between town and county and is more clearly focused on the best solution for the entire region. In that light, the convenience of location and the cost-effectiveness of centralization share a more equal footing.
Regional perspectives at the municipal governance level are few and far between these days, it seems. The Town of Athabasca absolving itself of any stake in the Athabasca Airport is another example. Administratively efficient as it may be, the notion that the town has no interest in the present and future operation of the airport is ludicrous.
Back with the library debate, the ball now seems to be back in town council’s court. Is the threat of the county’s non-participation with construction costs enough to coerce them to build at the multiplex? Will they stick with a downtown location? Will all this lead to a spat between the councils?
Or maybe, just maybe, will the members of both councils take a step back and focus on the best decision for the most people, regardless of which jurisdiction they happen to live in?
Let’s hope for the latter.
