Regarding Mark Silberling letter to the editor (“Auburn doesn’t need costly community center”) that appeared in the Feb. 14 issue of the Auburn Reporter:

From the facts and figures presented, it appears that the community center project is a huge “want” as opposed to a “need” for the citizens of our community.

Our mayor and City Council members are elected by the citizens to be good stewards of our tax dollars and to prioritize the needs of our community. In this case, it appears that neither is being done.

I found it extremely interesting that a letter following Silberling’s and written by Jeanne Harold also complained about the increase in the City of Auburn’s water bills. In his letter, it was pointed out the “City has already spent over a million dollars in consulting fees and architectural drawings,” which resulted in increased cost of our utilities.

I heartily concur that continued spending/planning for a community center needs to be decided by the voters, and/or the mayor and council need to revisit this item high on their “want” list.

– Elaine Powell