Although I will not be eligible to vote in Rockport on election day next month, I want to express my disappointment in the manner our town officials have handled the issue of locating a replacement for our beloved village library.  

The divisiveness in the community speaks to a concern I have held for years: Rockport has five distinct “districts”: The Village easterly of Rt. 1; Glen Cove, southerly of the village; Rockville, westerly of Glen Cove; West Rockport, westerly of the village; and Simonton Corner, southerly of West Rockport.  

The village has been taking on a prosperous tone, which is awesome.  However, do folks from the entire town enjoy and appreciate what the village has to offer?  Previous votes on the library and its location have been very close, so a portion of the populace, including me, supported the RES site.  I pictured a community-center campus there with a wonderful, accessible library that the entire town would enjoy: simple parking, a play area and maybe even a food vendor.  

I also think that highly visible site would have been a welcome center for visitors who could see Rockporters enjoying a town treasure.

Unfortunately at the time of Rockport’s most recent vote on the library I was under the impression that the RES site was off the table, but heard later that I still could have supported it.  I will continue to support the Rockport library wherever it may be built.

Jean Boobar lives in Rockport