The very well done WVIA “Our Town” program has gotten me to thinking. I would like to follow-up with it by listening to the twelve hours of interviews and presenting some of the comments in the Luminary that had to be deleted for lack of time. Then also maybe have others come forward with additional memoirs. That was too good a program to let it not be used as a starting point, and I hope that I can do this this winter.

However there is another side to Muncy which is very disturbing. Where was Mayor Dannemann? Several have asked me and I noticed it also. The mayor is always a town’s official spokes person. Also where was MPBA, the Muncy Professional and Business Association? Several members were active for the program, but the organization was noticeably missing.

That got me to thinking about other things. The fire company plans to move to the geographic center of the area it serves. That is WRONG! It should be at the population center which is two miles west of where they propose.

The school board wants to sell/unload the Waldron Building. I agree. Good idea because of the costs. The building would be ideal as Muncy’s Borough Hall. It is the best looking building in town, prominently located and easily found. The second floor rear has a large area served by an elevator that I believe has never been made use of. This gives flexibility for the future. The school could transfer ownership and the present Borough building sold with that money possibly given to the school system or the tax payers (heaven forbid! Government never doesn’t do that, only business reduces prices when costs go down), which really had minimal costs to return to its old location.

Evelyn Derrick on WVIA talked about the $3,000,000 she desires for a new library so as to keep up with Hughesville’s uninspiring modern building – $2,400,000 in excess of what Muncy needs (and that is probably excessive.) I have carefully studied their proposal. Furthermore their planned location at New Street is not in keeping with the zoning. The area is residential, and being in the historic district, the Boro Code requires any construction to be compatible with the historic buildings of the area. They are two story that go back to the 1830’s or earlier, and so it must be two story.

The existing and less than 30 year old library, which was designed for what the library said they recently wanted. It only needs at most, a twenty foot extension to the rear to give 2000 additional square feet (and thereby make it larger than Hughesville’s.) Also parking will be enlarged by requiring the adjacent property not to use library parking area as a driveway to their parking. I have given a written pledge of $10,000 for this addition, but not a penny more.

So, here are three of five problem areas, which I am aware, and the solutions for each to make Muncy a better town, and most importantly done economically – a fire house located where it should be, better use of the Waldron Building, and a practical library addition for its real needs.

Thank you.

Thomas T. Taber

Muncy, PA