Support 203 Project in Carrboro

[Ryan Byars]

Hello,

I live and work in Carrboro and I'm writing to urge the county commissioners to approve funding for the 203 Project. I understand that the costs of the project have risen sharply, but I worry that there will not be a way to pause and restart this project without incurring more significant expenses. Most crucially, delaying the project will push off a number of substantial benefits to the residents of the town and county. 

For families in my neighborhood, we would finally have a library in our town that would be accessible by bus and bike -- no more being forced to drive to Chapel Hill. The new library would quite literally anchor our downtown, turning a poorly used surface parking lot into what will be the town's premier public facility. Locating the Orange County Skills Development Center at the library will enhance the social service economy of scale already present in downtown Carrboro, allowing the town and the county to efficiently offer services to the community from a highly accessible location. Finally, the town of Carrboro is a fully committed partner in the project, putting up one of the town's most important parcels and building a sidewalk down S. Greensboro to better connect residents to the facility and services. 

Again, I understand the heartburn involved with the rising costs, but there is no indication that waiting and having to re-bid and re-permit everything would be a better alternative, especially if it means losing out for years on all of the benefits of having this library in our downtown.

Thank you,

Ryan Byars

Carrboro, NC