To the Editor:

I was at the special meeting for Emmaus Borough Council. It was obvious the council members had already decided to vote for the project.

One of the many excellent questions asked was had a long-term analysis been done. The borough manager stated they have been thinking about this since August.

That is less than six months to make a decision that is going to cost the borough $6 million dollars.

The borough manager talked about needing more record storage space. A resident pointed out digital storage takes up very little space. The borough manager also talked about space problems for borough employees.

Another resident pointed out that in the private sector office space has been shrinking for years. An 8 foot by 8 foot cubicle is pretty standard. The existing borough offices are considerably larger than that.

A lot of the costs for existing buildings are general maintenance issues.

Some of the expense will save operating costs. Replacing the windows in the borough building and retrofitting the lights will save utility costs. Some of the expenses are debatable. Does the police building need a parking garage?

Even with the charter school renting space, the building the borough has voted to buy is much bigger than the borough needs. Do we want to encourage local government to grow?

Do we need a government center? Emmaus is a lovely small town. What is wrong with having a small town borough hall? Do we need a government center because our neighbor has one?

One of the council members used the phrase, "future forward" in this purchase and move. There are a lot of changes happening in Emmaus. Our demographics are changing. Thirty-five percent of elementary students at Lincoln and Jefferson schools get free or reduced lunches. Head Start is starting in fall of 2015. Wouldn't it be more future forward to invest in the people of Emmaus and not the government structure?

So the borough is going to spend approximately $6 million dollars but our taxes are not going to be affected by this. Call me a cynic but I find that very difficult to believe. This entire incident was done in an underhanded manner. If the borough had been thinking of this since August, why is it the residents were not notified until four days before a decision had to be made? And did anyone really believe they had to make a decision because another buyer was waiting in the wings?

Is it any wonder our trust in government is decreasing?

Linda Rose

Emmaus