In the past 30 years the City of Auburn has put at least two, possibly three, proposals for a community center before voters. Each time, the plans have been rejected.

During The Great Depression, Les Gove Park was a government housing project called The Terrace. Eventually, Auburn acquired the property, using it as a site for a new library and park.

After spending millions of dollars on plans and improvements at Les Gove Park, the City is still planning a community center.

I’ve lived in Auburn for 50 years and been on the City Council twice, but I have yet to be invited to a neighborhood meeting about emergency management, nor have I seen a plan for a community center that will include a permanent emergency shelter in Auburn.

I have seen millions of dollars in public funds spent to accommodate elected officials and people who can afford to take care of themselves. In the past year I have learned much about homelessness in Auburn, and in the future I hope our elected officials will find the courage to tell people who need emergency shelter that there’s “no room at the inn.”

The City does much to help people in need, and I had hoped I could put a positive spin on the idea of a community center this time around, but I cannot.

Greed and poor decision making by those of us who should have known better is destroying the future of Auburn and the people who live here.

– Virginia Haugen