By a 54 to 46 margin, Rockport voters approved building a new library on the property of the old library. 

The voters did so with the understanding that the intersection of Russell Ave, Central Street and Union Street is confusing. They knew that on rare occasions, they might have to walk more than 75 steps to get to a library event. They appreciated a park across from the library. They knew they were approving a building and nothing else. 

Now, we find that a current plan without formal Select Board vote, without any public discussion:

1. Increases by 100 percent the amount of asphalt on Limerock street - from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of asphalt. 
2. Reduces by 41 percent the amount of green grass in Memorial Park - from 18,500 square feet to 11,000 square feet of green grass.
3. Reduces by 100 percent the number of trees in Memorial Park - from five to zero trees.  

This library needs to be built. Changes to the plans for the building and lower Limerock Street and Intersection are regrettably too far along to change without major delays and expenses in the building plan. The parking lot in the park does not impact the building plan. 

Please urge our select board members to be sensitive to changes that destroy a park.

Encourage them to modify the current plan to make Limerock Street one-way and keep parallel parking. Doing so will: 

• reduce by 36 percent the amount of planned new asphalt.
• reduce from 41 percent to 22 percent the paving of our Memorial park.

With this change, there is ample parking to meet Library-Staff parking counts. 14 parking spaces and a drop-off are within 75 steps of the Library. This is enough to hold the daily maximum number of cars all but four days a year. And more than ample to hold the 3 to 4 cars are typically parked at one time every day of the year.  

Please contact our Select Board Members now and ask them to make Limerock Street one way coming off the new Union Street entrance and to keep parallel parking along Limerock. 

Ask them to preserve a residential area above the library. Ask them to keep the park from being a parking lot. 

Here is the contact information for our Select Board members: 

Doug Cole: dcole@town.rockport.me.us  

Debra Hall: dhall@town.rockport.me.us 

Jeff Hamilton: Jhamilton@town.rockport.me.us 

Mark Kelley: mgkelley@town.rockport.me.us 

Ken McKinley: kmckinley@town.rockport.me.us 

Respectfully: 

Bill Freeman
Susan Freeman
Larry Lehmann
Stephen Earle
Barbara Brooks
Malcolm Brooks
Mary Ann Brooks
Warren Schubert
Melody Schubert
Mitchel Gross
Don Flock,
Judy Flock
Emmy Lewis
Ingrid Van Steenberg
Sally Cook
Ruth Graham
Anne Surovek
John Surovek
Jim Chalfant
David Bannister
Lynn Bannister
Mary Ann Young
Tom Young
Kathleen Hackett
Stephen Antonson
Kathrin Seitz
Richard Anderson
Michael Hampton
David Kantor
Caryl Kolkin
Tori Willauer
Linda Lesher
Grif Lesher
Tony Bates
Betty Bates
Jen Porter
Lisa Morgan
Stephanie Lash
Barbara Bausch
Patti Peace
Linda Sink
Sue Plaskas
Susan Kauck
Jeff Kauck
Colleen Lowe
Shawn Moran
Peter van der Kieft
Marcy van der Kieft
Susan Forster
Pete Forster
Deniz Ovecoglu
Mary Ovecoglu
Leon Bausch