To the Editor:

It’s quiz time!

What do you know about the HVAC project at the C. H. Booth Library, the 5th Capital Improvement Project on the April 22 Referendum?

1. What is an HVAC?

a. A vaccine

b. An ancient Egyptian snack

c. A Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system

2. Who owns and is responsible for the C.H. Booth Library building?

a. Some guy in a gas station in Nebraska

b. Elon Musk

c. The town of Newtown; it was a gift from Mary Hawley

3. When did the Library need and first request a new HVAC?

a. During the Civil War

b. When Hannibal crossed the Alps

c. 2011

4. Since 2017, repairs to the deteriorating HVAC system have cost more than:

a. 50 rupees

b. 100 rubles

c. $259,856

5. How much will the mill rate increase if voters approve the library HVAC system?

a. A hop, skip and a jump

b. Hmmmmmmmm…

c. Not at all, the town will bond to finance the project

6. What will it cost if voters don’t approve the library HVAC system?

a. More than $10,000/month in rental and operating fees for a temporary system when the old system fails

b. The library will have to close for an extended period of time, and the artwork, historical artifacts, antique furniture and books may be irreparably damaged

c. It will end up costing even more for a new HVAC system

d. All of the above

This quiz is frivolous, but the need for a new HVAC system in the library is not. One of the two boilers has failed and can’t be repaired; the other is over 50 years old, and has failed more than once already. Parts for it are no longer being made, so when it fails again, it can’t be repaired.

I’m writing this letter as an individual library patron, not as a representative of the Library Board of Trustees, of which I am a member.

Please support Newtown’s Library! Vote Yes on April 22 for a new HVAC system to keep our library open!

Betsy Litt

Newtown