This sure seems like the wrong project at the wrong time:
Officials in Crown Point hope to break ground on a $12 million library on the north end of the downtown square in May.
Library Director Lynn Frank tells The Times of Munster that a lot has to happen between now and then for that to occur, including some tweaks to the design. Frank says the library will have a courtyard design.
And not just because of the weak economy and the need for governments to watch their spending. The challenge to paper products by digital downloads has become so strong that erecting a new physical plant to hold books might not be the best use of taxpayer money. I thought that even back when the Allen County Public Library was remodeling its main downtown branch, and the need for caution is even more obvious now.
At least this is a relativelty modest proposal. It will be some time before anybody beats Carmel for extravagance and profligacy. The scoundrels there built a $126 million "acoustically refined" concert hall and now need to subsidize its operations:
Executive Director Steven Libman first told the council in April he would need up to $2 million annually to supplement a $6 million operating budget. Believing the project is too big to let it fail, the council awarded that money in 2010 and budgeted it for this year.
At the council's 6 p.m. meeting today, Councilwoman Luci Snyder will lead an effort to set up a permanent fund. Her proposal would give the council control over how that money is used -- and who can approve it this year and beyond. She wants to ensure the money is spent only for general operating funds for the building and employee salaries.
"Too big to fail," eh? Has a familiar ring.
Indiana's universities, meanwhile, fear they are going to be left behind in the great capital projects sweepstakes. They say they need about $700 million, but the Indiana Commission for Higher Education says they might get nuttin', honey.
If lawmakers — strapped for cash and riding a wave of fiscal conservatism — agree with the commission and incorporate the moratorium, some campus leaders fear a “spiral into mediocrity.”
Well, yes, more and more spending, especially on capital projects, is the key to a quality education. Doesn't everybody know that?
