In Scott Merzbach’s Dec. 3 article “Council assailed over garage,” he quotes At Large Councilor Alisa Brewer as saying “the Boltwood garage opened in September 2002 with a surface level and a basement level, could easily have additional stories of parking. There is an understanding that the garage was built in a manner that could accommodate such an expansion.”
So it turns out we don’t need a new garage! We can just expand the existing one. Problem solved! Not so fast. There is one group of people who might have a problem with the problem being so easily solved. And that’s the “shakers and movers” who stand to make a bundle of money by building another garage in Amherst. Well, I say the welfare and peace of mind of the people of Amherst who pay the town’s bills should come before the greed of developers. That welfare and peace of mind is best served by expanding the garage we already have.
The people who built the Boltwood garage showed us the prudent way forward. Let’s wisely follow their lead and expand the Boltwood garage.
John J. Templeton
Amherst
