The Windsor Public Library's decision to stop pursuing a new branch inside Devonshire Mall has angered one city councillor.
In 2013, Windsor Council set aside $200,000 to put a library in the mall.
Ward 9 Councillor Hilary Payne says he made a committment to his constituents. "I was very angry because it was all news to me. No one had bothered to tell me, the ward councillor, what was going on," he says. "I had separate information from the manager at the Devonshire Mall that yes, the mall would certainly like to have the library there. It's just a matter of finding a location, which is not what the library board was saying."
He says a library branch is badly needed in the area. "Ward 9 doesn't have a community centre, it doesn't have a library," he says. "I would say they're culturally deprived."
Speaking at the most recent library board meeting, Payne has given them three months to try and make progress before he brings the issue to council. "I really don't know what the problem is. If they can't do it in three months ... then I'll have to go back to council and get this whole mess straightened out."
