Supporters of the Dimond Park Library project were given cause to rejoice on Monday when the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Finance Committee recommended that its funding request be fully met by a five-year extension of the 1 percent special sales tax.
Juneau Public Libraries asked the Assembly for $4.7 million to help fund the project, which would see the Mendenhall Valley Public Library moved out of the Mendenhall Mall commercial development and relocated to a building yet to be constructed on Riverside Drive.
“This is good for us, I think, to be on the sales tax,” said library director Barbara Berg. “That’s what the Friends of the Library had been working for all along.”
But not all of the high-profile projects that requested funds from the sales tax fared as well.
Out of $5 million requested from sales tax revenues for the Juneau Arts and Culture Center’s Performing Arts and Culture Center, the committee recommended only $1 million be allocated.
“It would have been nice to have been considered for a little bit more than that, but I’m pleased to be included in the list (of allocations),” said Nancy DeCherney, executive director of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, which manages the JACC. “We will make the best of it. … This is a step forward, as far as I am concerned. And we’ll keep working.”
While only $500,000 was cut from Centennial Hall’s request of slightly more than $3.7 million, its funding was bundled into a $25 million bond issue. Provided the Assembly approves Mayor Bruce Botelho’s intent language, the Centennial Hall project will still receive $3 million even if the bond fails.
Brent Fischer, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said funding at the $3 million level would prompt the department to evaluate what renovations it could afford.
“We’ll wait to see what the funding is and then go from there,” Fischer said. “I think it’s very safe to assume that we’ll be looking at either safety issues or deferred maintenance first, and then cosmetic after that.”
Parks and Recreation’s request for Capital School Park improvements was slashed from $500,000 to $150,000. Botelho’s proposal last week originally called for it to be funded at the even lower level of $50,000, but Assembly Member Jesse Kiehl interceded to restore $100,000 to the allocation last Thursday.
Kiehl said Tuesday that he lives and works near the park and is concerned about health and safety there, due to old playground equipment and occasional icy conditions.
“In the wintertime … groundwater seeps out from behind that retaining wall, and it freezes going across the play areas,” Kiehl said of the park. “I worry about injuries.”
“It is probably the most highly used park in Juneau,” Fischer said. “Typically during (the) school year, we’ll have 100-plus kids out there a day on that field.”
Of the packed dirt field, Fischer added, “Ultimately, we’d like to have a different type of surface.”
While Parks and Recreation originally called for the $500,000 to help construct new restroom facilities at the park, Kiehl said the committee allocated enough money to solve the safety concerns.
Fischer added that the restrooms could be funded by capital improvement programs further down the line.
• Contact reporter Mark D. Miller at 523-2279 or at mark.d.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (9)
Add comment$4.7 million. Is that all?
Nope. Cost overruns extra staffing, building maintenance... The list goes on. But, Hey! It's for the KIDS! When was the last time you saw anyone under 18 yrs. old anywhere in the library that wasn't sitting at a computer console? Other than that, very few people at all (aside from homeless people in shades pretending to read magazines while they sleep). An Internet kiosk would pay for itself! Gotta put turf on that dirt field for more traction for the ice to hang onto. And JACC's "black hole"... Well, it speaks for itself.
Dump the 1% TEMPORARY ("special") sales tax! Cut off the assembly's supply for their crack spending monkey on their backs!
Exagerations
Never has 100 kids been on the field at Capital park at one time and it is not by far the most popular park in the city. Maybe dozens at the most. Exaggerations like this ruin the credibility of the whole project. And concerning the ice run off from the wall. Yeah, it occurs, but the kids can fall on the ice all over Juneau. Kids actually utilize this ice in the winter by playing hockey. Complete with home made nets. But I agree the wall should've come down 30 years ago.
Now they are calling it a
Now they are calling it a "special sales tax" instead of a "temporary sales tax". How special.
Curtis
Nice observation. A sales tax affects everyone, except those of us who are senior citizens. Yet, even though I do not pay the tax all the time (sometimes I do) it is a question of fairness and equity among all Juneau residents. 1% may not mean much to some folks, but to others it is another expense in life. I am concerned about that.
We keep hearing that our local government has to cut costs and does so in various ways. We have 4% basic sales tax plus the "temporary " sales tax. I'm not really sure where that other 4% goes in the city and borough budget. We also have a property tax, which I pay even though much of it is reduced since I am elderly.
From what I can understand, from my limited ability, is that some of the proposals for the "temporary" tax, that some now call a "special" tax, is for maintenance and repairs. The rest is for things "we would like to have" or like the new library, something that might reduce expenses if it is utilized by many members of our community.
I think it is time to let our local government know that its time to lay things out openly, honestly, with all the things we "need" like repairs and maintenance, and what are things that some would like to have, that maybe a lot of low income people think we can't afford.
Once we all know what is "needed" now and what is "we would like to have" then let us as voters decide which way to go - accept or reject the 1% tax.
Maybe I am somewhat mentally retarded, but in my life, I often have to decide the difference between "what I need" and "what I would like to have."
I'd prefer a new arts and cultural center first
The JAAC is an old armory building; its acoustics are horrible. I like the idea of putting a new library in the Valley, but my own priority would be to tear down the JAAC armory and build a new arts and cultural center. I like Nancy DeCherney's attitude, though, of appreciating what the JAAC gets this time.
Emitr
I agree with Emitr.
Libraries are becoming obsolete due to the web.
Tear down the JACC and all its mold. Build a world class performance and meeting center in its place. Give it wifi and we can call it a library too.
Illiterates
Whatta bunch of illiterates always commenting here. I'm glad that you whiners never show up at Assembly meetings and just whine away from your parents' basements.
Meanwhile, us literate library users who understand 1)that not everything you find on the internet is true and 2)books actually have intrinsic value as well as useful information will continue to support our libraries and real printed books.
I'll be you ignorami would be in a world of hurt if you didn't have book reading parents paying for your internet service.
orionsbow1
That's not true actually - during the school year, the Juneau Community Charter School uses that playground - there are at least 80 students there, probably more. In addition, homeschoolers and nearby daycares also use the playground. My son attended the Charter School for 8 years - and yes, there have been near 100 students on the playground at a time. In the winter, there's a sheet of ice on that field that is highly dangerous.