There has been a virtual wall of numbers thrown at Carroll citizens in recent months revolving around the pros and cons of the proposed Carroll Public Library expansion and relocation of city offices. The group, Taxpayers for a Realistic Library Improvement Plan, has said the city will have bonds that are not going to be paid off until the year 2023 and 2024. City Council member, LaVern Dirkx, wants to address that statement, saying they will not be borrowing $4 million until 2024. Rather, the city has partnered with their financial advisors to formulate a 10-year bond plan that will keep the levy amount at $1.28 or below.
Secretary of the Taxpayers for a Realistic Library Improvement Plan, R. W. Collison, also says their plan to construct a 4,600-square-foot addition to the east of the library and to remodel the roughly 9,600 square feet of existing space is a viable alternative. He also says he supports the efforts of other like-sized communities. City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver notes these types of comparisons have been a critical part of the research process for over a decade now, and have been instrumental in helping the engineers and architects determine needs.
Library Director, Rachel Van Erdewyk, addresses some of those needs, saying that even in the face of new technology, the physical act of reading a book remains popular, and the library is able to offer literature in print or electronic form. It is also a valuable resource to students, educators and many other groups, not only as a place to meet but as a place to get the materials they need. Van Erdewyk says their partnerships with other Carroll libraries is another benefit to all residents.
She adds that information is very expensive, and to have access to all of it with just a library card is a pretty important thing. The change will also be able to provide efficiencies that are not currently available.
Making the second-floor area accessible is also a highly-efficient means of providing a natural separation from the children’s programming and the adult collection on the second floor, she says. One other item that has been brought to the forefront by the Taxpayers for a Realistic Library Improvement Plan has been the fact that the library is closed on Sundays, something that Van Erdewyk says is common in most libraries.
The data that Dirkx, Pogge-Weaver and Van Erdewyk referenced is available below. Pogge-Weaver and Van Erdewyk will also be available to answer any questions at the next two open houses, tonight (Wednesday) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Carroll Public Library and again tomorrow from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The $3.8 million bond referendum vote is already open for absentee voting, with the election being held from noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
