Despite the dedication and hard work of a group of very committed volunteers, it appears, unfortunately, that the Arlington Library Bond which appeared on the Nov. 7 general election ballot has failed to get the required 60 percent supermajority needed to pass.
The Snohomish County Auditors Web site, updated at 5 p.m. on Nov. 27, showed that 5,294 people (59.67 percent) voted in favor of the new library, while 3,578 people (40.33 percent) voted against the bond. That means the bond failed by less than one-half of one percent, or about 30 yes votes. The auditors office will update the count again Nov. 28 (after press time), but it is unlikely that the bond will get the additional votes needed for passage.
The bonds failure is unfortunate because it is clear that the current library building is overcrowded and too small to meet the needs of a community that has more than doubled in size since the facility was built 25 years ago. Those issues wont simply go away. They will, however, continue to get worse as the community continues to grow. The library staff does a great job of making the most of what they have, but the limitations of the existing facility and the growing population makes their efforts more difficult.
A new library which fully meets the needs of the community, now and in the future is not simply something nice to have. It is a quality of life issue that deserves support from the entire community. The entire community needs o recognize that the need for a larger library is only going to continue to increase with time. So, too, will the cost of building that new facility due to inflation and the increasing costs of construction.
Regardless of the bonds outcome, the dedicated and hard working volunteers deserve our thanks. They committed their time, energy and resources to making our community a better place for all of us. And, during the weeks of waiting to learn of the bonds fate, theyve remained optimistic and positive. We should all thank them and commit ourselves to supporting, and joining, them should they decide to bring the issue back to the voters in the future.
The volunteers in Arlington working to make the community a better place are not the only ones who deserve our thanks. People in Marysville and the surrounding area worked hard to make our community safer by working for the passage of a ballot measure to benefit the Marysville Fire District and the people it serves. The ballot measures, one voted on by the residents of Marysville and one voted on by resident who live within Fire District No. 12, asked voters for an increase in property taxes to fund and staff a new fire station in the Sunnyside area and upgrade the department to a completely fulltime staff.
In Marysville, 4,643 people (54.04 percent) voted in favor of the measure while 3,948 (45.96 percent) voted against it. In Fire District No. 12, 5,764 people (56.12 percent) voted yes while 4,506 (43.88 percent) voted no. Fortunately, unlike the Arlington Library bond which required a 60 percent supermajority, the MFD measure only required a simple majority of 50 percent for passage. With both the Marysville and FD No. 12 measures garnering more than 50 percent approval, the measured passed.
While the new fire station is being built in the Sunnyside area, it will enable to Marysville Fire District to enhance the service it provides to everyone.
Those who worked to get the measures passed, and those who voted to support the MFD, also deserve our thanks. Their willingness to invest in our community has made it a better, and safer, place for all of us.

To contact a member of The Marysville Globe/Arlington Times editorial board Kris Passey, Scott Frank or Margi Hartnett e-mail forum@premier1.net.