Whose Library Is It Anyway?

continued

Ex-mayor Sheldon thinks the absence of a daily newspaper also played a role. With less sustained coverage, supporters had fewer chances to answer objections--and heated anonymous online posts replaced the comparatively sober debate of signed letters to the editor.

It's not at all clear what a Plan B will be, since the trustees so counted on Plan A. The need for major repairs is undeniable--and Murphy, the board's treasurer, says they would almost certainly have to turn to voters to pay for them.

Says Murphy, sounding bewildered, "We'll lick our wounds and talk about what we want to do next."

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The following Calls & letters item appeared in the January 2013 Ann Arbor Observer:

Berriz and the library

“I was not involved in any way, shape or form,” Albert Berriz emailed. Our December feature on the defeat of the bond to build a new downtown library listed the McKinley CEO as one of the proposal’s supporters—and suggested that he had actively campaigned on its behalf.