As a public servant whose personal life has been entwined with the economic and cultural life of Lewiston-Auburn for the past 30-plus years, I have been closely following the proposed merger.

While I do appreciate the cities’ histories, the fact is that the traditional Androscoggin River boundary has become increasingly irrelevant when facing the realities of daily living. Most people are making important life decisions without regard to which side of the river they might be on.

For many years I had the honor of leading Lewiston’s public library. While I worked hard to craft and deliver library services to the people of Lewiston, who paid my salary, there was no way to separate customers based on their city of residence. People use library resources and programs based on a variety of factors which do not always relate to where they sleep at night. For me, trying to keep costs to a minimum, it was frustrating to know that, in the libraries and other city departments, people were being paid on both sides of the river to do the same tasks.

While the road ahead for a merger has many challenges, I would suggest that we have what it takes to confront them and make some sensible decisions that will result in cost-effective public services, a better-run community and a more powerful voice in Augusta and beyond.

I hope others will join me in supporting this next step in the cities’ development.

Rick Speer, Auburn

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