OPINION
MARCH 3, 2020
AMERY FREE PRESS
5
www.theameryfreepress.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Opposed to library move I am writing this letter on behalf of the Amery Woman’s Club Board and its members in reference to the issue of moving the Amery Library to the current Bremer bank building. The Amery Woman’s Club worked to establish the Amery Public Library back in 1928. The club has been supportive of the library since that time. We work with the library in various ways; we have cards available at no cost at the library for persons to use to make donations to the library in memory or in honor of someone. These funds help the library to fund various programs. We also utilize our funds raised at the Holiday Stroll to support one of the summer programs that the library offers. Thus, we have vested interest in the well-being of our library. That being said, we do not feel it is in the best interest of the library and those that use the library for it to be moved. Currently, the library is in a great location, the parking is wonderful, and there is great access for entering with the covered entrance and drive up accessibility for persons who might need that access. The bank building will not offer this access. Moving the library to the basement of the bank building creates all kinds of access issues. First, there is parking; using a public lot across the street is really not ideal for young mothers bringing children to the library and having to cross the street. Also, the access for those using the library coming from Golden Age or Evergreen will now be denied. Those persons will no longer be able to use the library since they would not have transportation. Thus, access is a
big concern that we have. Another area of concern is the reduction of space. At its current location, the library has very adequate space but inside the bank that space will be significantly reduced. We have a beautiful children’s area, which is a great place to take kids on a rainy or wintery day. It is warm and inviting and to think that there may not be enough space to have that kind of area at the bank is distressing. We have so few options for activities for entertainment of children in our community this would be a big negative. Space is needed for meeting rooms so that tutors and students have quiet spaces to work. There needs to be a large computer area like we currently have, as this is an area which quite frankly needs to be increased. The appearance of our library is another concern if it gets moved to the bank. Locating the library in the basement is a dark, dreary environment. The current location has a lot of natural light coming in which helps to make the atmosphere a good one for reading and learning. The current library is one of those things when recommending to folks to consider locating in Amery that is used as a drawing card, we do not think that will be the same if it is moved. We understand there is a desire by the City Council to have all of the services to be in the same building, so City Hall, police and library, but, if it means diminishing the quality of the service, i.e., the library then we can say that Amery Woman’s club is very opposed to this change. Sincerely, Joyce Schaefer, President of Amery Woman’s Club
In support of snowmobiles There seems to be a campaign underway to discredit snowmobilers as caring members of our community. Snowmobilers are just as concerned with safety, health, and the environment as anyone else. The emotionally charged claims by some that snowmobilers are inherently evil and see all non-snowmobilers as targets are simply false. Riders are required by law to slow to 10mph when within 100 feet of pedestrians. Anyone looking at the snowmobile route on Baker Street can readily see the potential problems there. What about bicycle/snowmobile conflict on the Stower? With the small amount of current winter use on the Stower, is that a realistic issue or one that has been made up? Claims have been made that the Stower is too narrow to accommodate a variety of users. The motorized community was authorized twice in the last 16 years to prepare the trail for winter snowmobile use. Both times snowmobilers were prohibited from using the trail they had just brought up to State standards. Polk County is currently home to three other railroad grade trails open to motorized and non-motorized users. They are the Cattail State Trail, Gandy Dancer State Trail, and the Sawmill County Trail. Is there any record or history of snowmobile vs. pedes-
An Update From the Mayor and City Council The City of Amery Mayor and the City Council would like to provide some updates related to the West Campus Condo Association, Bremer Bank and city services including the Public Library, City Police, City Hall Municipal Court and Amery Area Historical Society. As elected officials, we were voted into office by the citizens of Amery to be fiscally responsible and guide you/us into the future in a thoughtful way. We are looking out for long-term financial stability, while maintaining high quality services, resources, and facilities while keeping taxes in check. As you know the city has been awarded and has accepted a $1.0 million CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) grant and will borrow $1.8 million to redo main street water, sewer, and sidewalks in the summer of 2021. This is a major undertaking that will further enhance the experience in our downtown. Since October 2018 we have been in consultations with the West Campus Condo Association (Amery Hospital and the City of Amery) on the upgrades to the HVAC and overall building updates. The estimated total cost for this project is $6.35 million with city’s share being 35% or $2.16 million over a period of 4 years. As the City of Amery is
part of the West Campus Condo Association Agreement and is responsible for our share of the expenses, the city council decided to look at other alternatives as we take the city into the future. The opportunity to purchase the Bremer Bank building was suggested and agreed upon by Bremer Bank. Bremer has committed to build a new bank building in downtown Amery; this is a win-win for the city. This is a great opportunity to consolidate all Amery services and resources into one building on Main Street that we own outright. Additionally, we would not have a building on Main Street empty. At 25,000 sq. ft. is the Bremer Bank Building big enough? It is very close and by all interested parties working together we can turn it into a wonderful City Center that includes the library, municipal court, council chambers, police dept., AEDC, Amery Area Historical Society, and any other appropriate entity. It is our desire to make this move and redesign in a collaborative approach. This is the direction the city council will move forward into the future City Center. We believe we are handling the process in a fair, legal, and reasonable manner. Both the Hospital and Bremer asked for confidentiality until the agreements were in place. At our Feb 5, 2020 City Council Meeting, we approved a competitively bid agreement to work with SEH
trian accidents on any of these trails? Those claiming that serious attempts are being made to remove non-motorized trail users from the Stower are making unsubstantiated incendiary claims. Characterizing the Cattail State Trail as a motorized only trail ignores the fact that it is open to all users. Currently each trail dead ends in Amery. Communities located on a recreational trail enjoy the economic activity of recreationalists passing through their communities. The Gandy Dancer State Trail is a local example. The key is connectivity. For snowmobilers Amery is difficult to navigate, at best. It is much easier to avoid. Snowmobilers continue to question why it has only been the last couple of years that they have become targets of a small group of uninformed or misinformed zealots seeking to limit access to such a potentially valuable regional asset as the Stower Seven Lakes State Trail. The amount of time we enjoy open snowmobile trails in Polk County is very short. It is obvious to anyone who bothers to look that the majority of the trail is mostly unused in the winter. Even a candlelight event held during mild winter weather conditions demonstrated that participants didn’t travel much beyond city limits. Douglas Johnson, Amery
LETTER GUIDELINES The Amery Free Press encourages readers to share their viewpoints of community issues by writing Letters to the Editor. Submit your letters via email to editor@ theameryfreepress.com, by mail to the Amery Free Press, P.O. Box 424 Amery, WI 54001, or by fax to 715-268-5300. We reserve the right to edit for accuracy,
clarity, libel, and civility. General letters to the editor are limited to 400 words or less. Readers may submit one letter for consideration every 30 days. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and phone number (address and phone number will not be printed). Anonymous letters will not be
published. Only letters originating from writers who live, have lived or work in the Amery Free Press circulation area or have some other relevance to the community area will be published. Special rules apply to election-related letters. For questions about policies on letters contact the editor at 715-268-8101
to conduct an engineering and feasibility assessment of the Bremer Bank building. We should get word back from SEH this coming week. This will assess any potential issues with the lower level, HVAC, electrical, roof, and other building considerations. At the time the assessment is complete: the City Council will review and make a final decision to move forward with the purchase of the Bremer Bank building. The city remains committed to being transparent with the project as we continue to move forward Upon closing on the purchase, the lower level will become available to the city. It will be explored as an option to house city resources., Our library – as all libraries are changing into more community spaces, we are really excited to explore having resources and library gathering spaces in these beautiful, open main level areas overlooking our downtown in one of the most architecturally appealing buildings on main street. We recognize that so many people have been involved in making our library an exceptional resource….. that it has changed locations many times as it has grown. This next step is to put the library on Main Street in one of the prominent locations in our community. It is a commitment to what a crown jewel it, the library, is in our community. Mayor Paul Isakson and the Amery City Council
Polk County Concerns – Stower Seven Lakes Trail I attended the Environmental Service Committee (ESC) meeting at Polk county, on February 12th and 19th, concerning the Stower Seven Lakes Trail and the Master Plan Draft for the future of the trail. At the meeting on the 12th of February it was decided that the county would take public comments relating to trail use by groups on a county website in regards to the trail. At the meeting on February 19th, the public comment result numbers that were given to the Environmental Committee members, didn’t all come from the county email site. The Polk County Snowmobile Club provided their own numbers, which the county went ahead and used. The numbers that the snowmobile club provided came from a survey on their own website, with no parameters. I took the survey on their website. I received a reply from them thanking me for supporting S3, which allowed snowmobiles on the trail with no changes made to the trail, which was their preferred choice from the draft plan. I didn’t vote for S3 on their site. I think that the ESC should go back and look at the Draft Plan. The county made a decision using numbers from an outside source with bias to the outcome. They should be looking at what would be a safe choice for all people in the county. The current decision was the easiest and the cheapest decision; it requires nothing from the county. The decision to put snowmobiles and horses on a narrow trail, with skiers’, pedestrians and bikes is not safe. The 2020 snowmobile season has been one of the deadliest in the last 10 years, with the majority of accidents involving alcohol and high rates of speed. The county will not be able to regulate choices made by people on the trail, and should be considered in the final decision. Lee Ann Overman Amery, Wisconsin
