By Ben Joravsky
But North River Commission officials say they deserve at least a minute or two of speaking time, since without their efforts there would be no new branch. “We’re not asking to make a major oration,” says Dale Bolling, a longtime commission member. “This may seem petty to some, but it’s important for volunteers to get credit for their energy and time. Why have these ceremonies if you’re not going to let the community speak?”
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“We had a specific vision for the corner,” says Bolling. “We wanted to produce as many jobs as had left. We wanted some kind of housing, we wanted shopping, and we wanted at least one public facility that would draw people and serve the community.”
“Pontarelli said to us, ‘As a token of appreciation, what can we do for you?’” says Cicero. “We said, ‘How about a library?’”
The letter went on to describe North River Commission’s role in the larger effort to redevelop the site and to ask that Bolling be allowed to speak for two or three minutes. “[Bolling’s] mission is to give volunteers their due, especially when their work results in a marked improvement for the community,” said the letter, which concluded with a mild threat: “Absent hearing from you in 10 days, we [have] no choice but to sponsor a People’s Celebration simultaneously and in competition to your opening. This is, after all, our community and our work that you are celebrating.”
Furthermore Dempsey and the local library advisory group question the amount of credit North River Commission actually deserves. Cheryl Anne Flood, president of Friends of the Mayfair Branch, says, “The process to get a branch is time-consuming and involves many different volunteers. North River did get involved in the project for the whole property, but they were not the force behind this library. I have files of letters going back for years to all sorts of officials on this. I remember walking through that very site with library officials as long ago as 1993. As we speak volunteers are feverishly shelving books. They are retirees, and they have to pack up books and unpack them and shelve them. They deserve credit too. And I will thank them in my speech. But I don’t think all of them are asking to speak at the ceremony.”
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