We all deserve a fairy-tale ending

“And they all lived happily ever after.”

This is the classic fairytale ending we hope will be the last words in the final chapter in the tale of our new Wasilla Public Library. With 11 days left before the Oct. 1 general election, it’s up to city voters to decide if they also want this decades-old story to have a happy ending.

More than 20 years of work, debate, lobbying and even a little prayer have led us to what could be a pivotal point for the Wasilla Public Library. Voters will decide whether to raise the city’s sales tax from 2 percent to 3 percent to raise the estimated $15 million it will take to build the library. The Mat-Su Borough has already bought in, donating a $1.3 million parcel of prime land at the intersection of Crusey Street and Swanson Avenue. Architects are already meeting with city staff and residents to start the 12-month design process for the 23,500-square-foot facility.

In years of reporting on the progress of bringing a new public library to Wasilla, we have yet to hear negative opinion about the project. And even with a sales tax increase on the ballot — which would sunset when enough money is raised, or in three years, whichever comes first — there have been surprisingly few rumbles from the “no-tax-for-any-reason” crowd.

There seems to be overwhelming support for building a new library not only for Wasilla, but for the Valley. Of the seven libraries in the Mat-Su Borough system, 36 percent of the items loaned out to patrons in fiscal year 2013 — 159,678 items — were through the Wasilla library, according to Friends of Wasilla Public Library. It’s the third busiest library in the state behind Anchorage and Fairbanks and saw nearly 90,000 visitors during that year.

What concerns us is the historically low voter turnout we see for most local elections. With other taxes on the overall general election ballot, like a borough-wide 5 percent tax on the sale of alcohol, there will likely be an element of anti-tax sentiment reflected at the ballot box.

When making your decision, here’s some food for thought:

• The new library would have nearly three times the space as the current one.

• It would offer seating for 228 people at a time, compared to the 37 seats available now.

• The technology center would expand to include more than 40 computers for public use, including more than 20 laptops for checkout.

• The library’s collection could nearly double in size from 53,000 items to about 90,000.

• The new facility would have a coffee shop, lower shelving and wider aisles.

• The new library also would have public meeting spaces and areas to host library programs.

We have long supported a new Wasilla library and hope after Oct. 1 we can pencil a happily-ever-after ending to this story.