| [Wednesday,August 29 2007] |
Economic Development / News / News / |
As the Sugar Maple Library Branch is set to close, the Bowling Green Library Board of Trustees approved property at 305 Graham Ave. as the site for a temporary library, with renovations not to exceed 20,000.
“I think the community will be proud of what we do out there,” said Jim Johnson, chairman of the library
board.
The Sugar Maple branch is scheduled to close Nov. 30.
The board, while keeping the possibility of the property on Graham Avenue open, was also looking at Delafield Community Center as a temporary replacement. The Housing Authority of Bowling Green owns the Graham Avenue property and the county owns the Delafield Community Center.
Alisa Carmichael, the library director, said size was a concern, and community members favored Delafield because it was larger. However, Monday's board meeting revealed the library could only use a portion of the Delafield Community Center - about 1,600 square feet - which is about 100 square feet more than that of the Graham Avenue property. However, the Graham Avenue property does not have other entities occupying its space like Delafield.
“Our history of sharing property isn't great,” Johnson said.
Library board member David Coverdale said the Graham Avenue site still looked attractive to him. He said it meets what the library's needs are now.
Along with the closure of the Sugar Maple branch, the Digital Depot branch on Kentucky Street will also close, with those libraries' stocks moved to a new branch in the rapidly growing Greenwood area on the other side of town.
That announcement sparked protest from community leaders on the north and west sides of town, which the Sugar Maple branch serves.
Linda McCray, executive director of the Bowling Green Human Rights Commission, protested that the Graham Avenue building is too small to effectively serve the community. But after hearing the space constrictions were still apparent at the Delafield site, she said she wanted a place where services would be accessible to everyone.
“That's my bottom line,” she said.
McCray said the perception the library board gave was one of resources being pulled away from an area that needs them the most. She said keeping an open dialogue helps.
The Graham Avenue property would need some renovations, such as wall and floor repair, carpet installation, an electrical upgrade, plumbing and aesthetic touches, such as landscaping and new doors to give it a library feel..
Also new parking could be constructed.
Dale Eichelberger with the Housing Authority of Bowling Green said staff members can do everything except carpet installation. He said if the city OKs reconstruction of the parking lot, the work could get done in a couple of months.
Eichelberger said he did a general preliminary cost estimate, but after the vote, which was unanimous with one abstention, he said it's time to get down to specifics.
Coverdale said the property is zoned as residential, and the library would need a separate conditional use permit for the property. He said now that the decision to use the property has been made, there is a timing issue.
“There's not just construction restraints, but city committee meetings,” he said. “We have to get on their agendas for their needed approvals.”
The library is undergoing a funding crunch in the wake of Warren County's budget cuts in June. The county has passed a library tax that's expected to bring in more money, but that won't start flowing until December 2008, and exactly how much that will consistently produce won't be known for another year, Carmichael said.
The Graham Avenue property will serve as a temporary place, until the library can find a permanent home on that side of town, when funding starts to stabilize.
Lisa Rice, library assistant director, said earlier that by January 2009 the library would like to see enough interest in the area to justify buying land for an all-new library building.
“We have until the end of December to open a temporary branch,” she said. “But we would like to be in by December 1.” |
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Bowling Green Daily News
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