Letter to the Editor

TO THE EDITOR:

Dear Weston Town Officials,

I am writing to voice my support for the proposed expansion of the Weston Public Library. After reading the recent article in Weston Today, I am concerned that the town risks losing a rare and generous gift of $5 Million over what seem to be mis-placed concerns over the design of the potentional expansion.

While I can appreciate that there is a process to follow and that the library lies in a historic district, the objections cited in the recent Weston Today article do not, on their face, hold water.

CT Trust for Historic Preservation/State Historic Preservation - Ms. Vairo’s and/or Ms. Dunne’s opinion that the design is "at odds" with the existing Library is objectively false. As you know the current library building was built in 1963 with subsequent additions in 1985 and 1994 and is of Modernist or Usonian style architecture; the provided renderings of the new design are completely compatible with this architecture.

In any case, although it has the authority, it does not make sense that the state would have strong opinions on design compatibility with a building that already flies in the face of the Colonial architecture of the historic town hall buildings. There is nothing historic about the library structure. If anything, one would think the HDC might have had input on the existing library itself flying in the face of a colonial-oriented historic district, but of course that ship has sailed as the library has been there since 1963.

Weston HDC – Height objections? The firehouse (built in 1956) is taller than the proposed library addition. The cell tower dwarfs everything around it at over 100 feet tall. This seems to be a contrived objection.

Besides the two points above, the article cites potential procedural issues with HDC’s actions. I share Dr. Spaulding’s concerns.

Weston is a small community that emphasizes education. There is no downside from a project such as this. As a parent of two children whom regularly use the library, and a tax-paying active-voter, it would greatly be upsetting to our family and our network of like-minded families in town if we failed to take advantage of this generous opportunity. The town cannot afford to invest in these types of community improvements within its current budget.

While I appreciate the function of the historical society, their objections do not stand up to the facts and should not be a reason to risk losing this important project. The design is completely compatible with the existing library architecture and is appropriate to the use and the context of the town center. As staunch admirer of the colonial-era architecture abundant in Weston, and a harsh detractor of the Modernist style, I can be still be intellectually honest enough to say this.

Thank you for your dedication to our town.

Steve Scioscia

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