4/24/08

Backers hope to build new library

by Beckye Randall  

A quick tour of the existing Arlington library makes the need very clear. Even in mid-afternoon on a weekday, all the computer stations are filled, every chair is taken and browsers have to turn sideways to pass one another in the stacks.

“Right now it’s actually pretty empty,” said Sno-Isle librarian Kathy Bullene. “As soon as school is out, students will fill all the study tables.”

The crowding is one of the reasons cited by proponents of an upcoming bond measure to fund a new Arlington library. They also point to a lack of public meeting space and inadequate room for programming at the outdated facility.

“The library is an integral part of our community,” said Karen Hobson, chair of the Library Board and a member of Friends of the Arlington Library. “Our community has simply outgrown this building.”

When the present Arlington Library was built in 1981, the population in the library’s service area was around 12,000 residents. Today it’s closer to 30,000 and that number is expected to grow to more than 40,000 by 2025.

The city has donated property directly across the street from the current library on Washington Avenue for the new building. Preliminary plans call for a 20,000-square-foot one-story building that will contain a dedicated children’s area, a multi-purpose room for public meetings and other events, a study room and comfortable seating for more than 100 patrons. The number of internet-capable computers will quadruple, from the current 8 stations to 32, and the library’s collection of books, DVDs, CDs and reference materials will nearly double to approximately 98,000 items.

Once the new facility is in place, the current library will be converted into a community center, providing valuable meeting space for civic groups and non-profit agencies, as well as a venue for community events.

The cost of building and furnishing a new Arlington library is estimated at $8.8 million and voters are being asked to create a Library Capital Facility Area (LCFA), an independent taxing authority, to collect and administer tax revenues for the project. If approved, property taxes to fund the project will be collected over 20 years, beginning in 2009, at a rate of approximately 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

“For the owner of a $300,000 home, the bond would cost $42 per year,” explained George Boulton, one of the key proponents of the library measure. “That works out to about $3.50 per month.”

Arlington voters came close to funding a new library in 2006, but the bond measure on that year’s ballot failed by 28 votes. In 2000 voters approved the LCFA but when the bond measure failed to pass, the taxing district was dissolved.

Two measures will appear on the upcoming ballot, which will be mailed to voters in the library’s service area on May 1, and both must be approved in order to get the project rolling, said Boulton. The first measure, to establish the Library Capital Facility Area, requires a 50 percent affirmative vote, while the $8.8 million bond must pass by a 60 percent majority.

Some residents have expressed concern about the fate of the Community Garden, which is currently located on property that will be taken over by the new library building. Backers say it’s hoped the garden can be moved to city property at 3rd and French Street, but those plans haven’t been finalized.

Residents will be asked for input regarding the design of the new building once the bond is approved, and Boulton estimates the project could be completed by 2010.

“Our job now is to get the vote out,” said Hobson. Ballots can be returned by mail, or they can be brought to the library or other drop-off points in the Arlington/Smokey Point area. All ballots must be dropped off or postmarked by May 20.

For more information about the ballot measures, including a map detailing the boundaries of the LCFA, visit www.anewarlingtonlibrary.org.

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