ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – After more than six decades of service in the Altamonte Springs community, the Altamonte Springs Library was set to close its doors in September due to budget constraints, but the Altamonte Springs commission voted Thursday to increase its property tax mileage, allowing the library to be funded.
A dozen community members spoke in support of funding the library ahead of the vote.
A 4th grader was among those who spoke to city commissioners inside city hall, advocating passionately to keep the library open. Before that, we sat down with her inside the library that is near and dear to her heart.
Audrey Verawetawana, 9, showed photos of her as a toddler at the library.
“I think it’s so important because the knowledge from books and there are books all over this library, so I read them every day,” Audrey explained.
It was a city announcement on Facebook about budget constraints that would cause the shutdown of the library that got Audrey into action.
“I was like, I can’t let this library close because it means everything to me. I crawled for the first time here. People get knowledge here, so I was like, I have to fight for it,” Audrey said.
Audrey even wrote a letter to city leaders. She read the letter during the meeting.
“I wanted to tell them please don’t close this library because something horrible might happen, like children taking drugs, criminal crimes will happen,” Audrey said.
Prior to the commission voting to increase its property tax milleage, Commissioner Bob O’Malley responded, noting the decision was “very difficult to make” and was “due to rising inflation and the cost of insurance.”
The increase in property taxes is expected to cover the $600,000 in operating costs for the year.
Before Thursday night’s vote, Audrey wrote a letter to Chief Meteorologist Candace Campos asking for help in saving the library.
“I won’t have books to read,” Audrey wrote. “(I) want ‘News 6′ to help with this situation in spreading the news to people.”
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“Five years later I still remember meeting Audrey during one of my pinpoint travels! Even as a four-year-old, I remember her so well-spoken and confident when she asked to do a pretend forecast,” Campos said. “When I received this letter from her, it was no surprise that she had grown into a smart and confident young lady who was not afraid to speak up.”
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