Library

When I was running for office there were two proposals concerning the building of a new library.  One was a complete tear down and rebuild for $40 million.  The other option was a tear down to the skeleton of the structure and rebuild for $30 million.  Now there is a new proposal, which we will call the relocation proposal. 

The library is proposed to be constructed near the train tracks and where a portion of the current city hall parking lot is located.  Instead of the previous proposals of 100,000 sq/ft, this will have 85,000 sq/ft and the price tag is down to $20 million.  The plan would include a new city council chamber incorporating all the ADA changes that our current chamber would require.  The total cost of the project would be $26 million.  This to me seems like a common sense approach to solving the problems of an aging library that should be replaced and incorporating $3 million in ADA changes that have to be incorporated in the current chamber. 

Another positive to the project is that there is a developer that wants to build a multi-use facility on the current library site.  Retail establishments will be on the bottom floor and either lofts or offices spaces on the above floors.  This project will invest another $26 million in private money in our downtown area.  I get the feeling that most if not all council members view this project favorably.