On Tuesday, Oct. 2, we’ll be asked to vote on a proposition to maintain the current five percent sales tax. As a member of the Friends of the Juneau Public Libraries board, it’s become clear to me that we have been remiss in explaining the facts about the proposed Dimond Park Library.
A city-owned library will save operating costs. Since 2009, rent for the current facility has increased 13 percent faster than the rest of the library budget.
By 2014, it will be $17,000 per month ($204,000 per year), exceeding the total spent for books, supplies, subscriptions, and computers for all three public libraries. Even with the inclusion of maintenance and utilities for the new library at a 3 percent annual inflation rate, eliminating the cost of rent would result in immediate annual savings that would increase over time.
The library project already has secured 66% of the total project cost — $9.3 million out of $14 million. This includes a $7 million library construction matching grant from the Legislature and $1.3 million from the Friends of the Library and the Library Endowment Fund. The $4.7 million in the 1 percent sales tax is the remaining local match needed. Without the match, Juneau will lose the $7 million grant and the opportunity to build a library at one-third of the cost. This is one project that cannot wait for a reformulated ballot next year.
While the proposed library will benefit all of Juneau, the new library will directly serve the area with the largest population in the borough. A new library will not only offer meeting and study spaces for valley residents that are comparable to the downtown and Douglas libraries, but children, in particular, will benefit, as well. There is less space for childrens’ books and activities in the current mall space than in either of the other libraries. Kids downtown and in Douglas have easy access to libraries in their neighborhoods, but not the 60 percent of children and teens living in the valley.
There are more facts available at http://www.friendsjpl.org/index.html... or just google “Friends of the Juneau Libraries.” Most important? Please join us in voting “yes” on proposition two to extend the one percent sales tax.
• Brotherton is treasurer of Friends of the Library
Comments (31)
Add commentCompromise
How about converting a portion of TMHS into a library. The school is oversized due to enrollment being less than projected.
We could do the conversion for far lass than $14 million, and we'd be more fully utilizing a facility that sits empty most of the summer and weekends. We also wouldn't need new parking lots, utilities, mechanical and electrical systems, etc.
NO!
Juneau does not need a new library. We have plenty of libraries and with technology, libraries are less desireable. We need more internet areas for studying, research, reading, etc. We have the down town library, Douglas library, Mendenhall library, that is plenty!
No on 2.
No on 2.
Spend the State $7 million on something Juneau needs
How about on low income housing?
Expand Pioneers home?
What about an incinerator?
Improvements to North Douglas boat ramp?
Maintenance on Schools?
New State office building in the Valley?
Tidal energy pilot project in the Channel?
Dorms and classrooms at UAS?
North Douglas Crossing?
Expand sewer treatment facility?
A library is way down on the bottom of the list of things Juneau NEEDS.
WHAT?
"Kids downtown and in Douglas have easy access to libraries in their neighborhoods, but not the 60 percent of children and teens living in the valley."
Most kids attend school and they have daily access to the library in the school! Those kids that aren't in school or are homeschooled, all the libraries are accessible by local public transportation!
There is also a library at the University!!!!!!!!!
There is also a library at the University!!!!!!!!!
I love libraries - but I can
I love libraries - but I can no longer "hold my nose" and vote for this so-called temporary tax. Not even for a library. Sorry. Just yesterday I was at my son's high school parent-teacher conference and told just how much access my son has to the library there. Yay! I'll be joining my fellow Juneauites in NOT voting this tax in this time around.
You are Right -The Valley doesn't need this . . .
Libraries are places where people come to know themselves and their communities.
In the words of Robert Putnam, “People may go to the library looking mainly for information, but they find each other there.”11 New moms connect at baby story-times; elderly people, often facing difficult life transitions, attend events and find that they make new friends; teenagers meet up in libraries’ teen spaces after school; and readers discuss current events in the periodicals room. In libraries, community-building connections are happening all the time.
Bluberry
I love libraries, but... In what century is your comment valid? I think we do need to move the library, and TMHS sounds like a viable option. In the meanwhile, that temporary tax has bee around long enough. Off with its head!
Edited to get rid of a typo
Are libraries obsolete?
The premise for community libraries is a strong one in that libraries provide a gathering place for communing ideas, supporting education, discuss and plan an effective government etc. However, if the community becomes impassive, and the library is only there to serve those who don't have "access", and by that I mean internet connectivity, then I would say that the library is obsolete as I would argue that the community can provide access in many other more cost effective ways.
Prove to me that there is a community need for libraries, beyond the internet, and I will agree that Juneau should invest in the longterm commitment to a new library located in the valley.
66%
(leaves 34% unfunded) & please (stick your collective heads in the sand) just don’t think about future unfunded maintenance
Vote no on 1 & 2
I will vote no on both propositions. We can't afford all this stuff. We are already living beyond our means as a community. Both jebe and jones support both of these propositions. They were the only two who did at the chamber meeting yesterday. So also vote for Merrill and paul or we will be voting for more ballot propositions like this in the future.
How about just closing the library at the mendenhall mall? That will save us a lot more than a new library building.
New library is long overdue and best option
The new valley library building would not add to the number of libraries ; it replaces a library that is rented with one that is owned. There were 184,000 visits to the Valley Library last year, so yes it is used and needed. (See p.6 of the library presentation: http://tinyurl.com/8fggwqk ). Yes, there will be maintenance costs, but there are also maintenance costs at the mall that are passed on to the city with a rent increase every year, along with a profit margin for the owner which won’t be the case with the new library. The idea of the co-located library/high school space was rejected by both sides when the high school was planned. For the high school, there were security concerns about an unrestricted public service inside their space which they try to keep access-restricted. For the library, there were concerns about not being able to reconcile the different computing restrictions and collection needs of a school vs a public library. I’m at TMHS a lot lately and it doesn’t appear to me to be sitting half empty.
YES!
You can't just take matching funds intended for the library and use them for something else you think the community could use more, it doesn't work that way. The new library will save us money over renting the mall location and will be a much more desirable place to hang out.
And to those of you who want to close the Valley library altogether, well, libraries aren't just computer access stations. People in Juneau (my family included) are still checking out loads of books and movies. There are so few places in this land-locked town where you can go and hang out for a few hours without having to spend any money, let's not take away one of the few remaining places we have. It's hard enough living in Juneau as it is.
Thespout is correct, I forgot
Thespout is correct, I forgot about the university library. I have visited that one several times and it is very nice. No vote from me.
NO ON 2
Lori Brotherton,
Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but at a cost of $14 million dollars it would take 68.6 years to equal 204,000 a year in rent; correct? Then we have maintenance and staff, amongst other costs. After 70 years of saving on rent, we can tear it down because we will need a new one...NO!!! on Two.
NO MORE PET PROJECTS!!!
I love the Libraries and I appreciate the Friends of the Library for all that they do; but that does not justify the math in my mind. You can vote against me if you disagree; and Loren Jones is a wonderfully nice gentleman who has shown me nothing but kindness and his vote is Yes; so please go out and vote on October 2nd for or against me, but voice your opinion in the way that will matter.
Delete
Delete - Have a great weekend!
Your math argument lacks some details
Paul, I respect you for running for office, but your math argument overlooks the fact that the city only has to put up 1/3 of the 14 million or 4.7 million. The rest is grant funded already so this investment will pay off much, much sooner. Also, your figure assumes that the rent will stay at a mere $204,000 a year for the next 68 years, which based on the last 29 years at the mall won't be the case. By 2014 the city will have paid more than $6.5 million in today’s dollars for rent for at the mall (see page 16 of the same presentation I linked to above). So if we had built this building a long time ago, like in 1983 when the library first moved into the "temporary" space at the mall, we would be ahead financially now.
And yes, the university library is great, but although it's open to the public, it is not a public library. The University library programs and collections are developed to support the courses and programs taught at the school. You can't expect the university to start providing a full collection of romance novels and mysteries, how-to books, and pre-school programming space. Do you want tuition increases to cover that?
First...
We build a parking garage for the foundation!!!
Auks bay, you need to check YOUR math
Ok, so how much do we spend on building maintenance staff to maintain the mendenhall library location? Zero. How much would we spend and will we spend for additional maintenance personnel that is not included in the operating budget of the library? Probably at least one additional building maintenance staff.
What would the return have been on $6 million saved starting in 1984 if we had just saved those dollars instead of spending it on a library? Millions.
We don't need the library. The we-will-save argument by building this library is a crock. Just say no and then close the mendenhall library.
AukeBay
I wasn't proposing that the public library be folded into the school library. They would be separate spaces, in different parts of the building, completely segregated, and accessed through different dedicated entrances. I don't see why the security concerns can't be adequately addressed.
I suggest you start thinking outside the box or you'll never get the library you have worked so hard for.
Thespout & Milspec
You are correct UAS has a lovely library for those seeking academic pursuits.
I don't know if they have lapsit programs for young families or even a large selection of children's books for that matter--Do you.
Do they have allow AARP tax help for seniors ( and I don't mean 4th year students) every spring?
I do know they have about 4 computers, so that would help people out, I guess.
It is a good library. Do you know if they allow students under 18 to use the library without parental supervision?
Win ME over to vote no.
Bluberry
I am sorry, I can not vote
I am sorry, I can not vote for it either. If the valley branch closed people would go else where to fill those needs.
If we insist on opening it, lets make a Borders Books and put a coffee shop in it and a small bakery.
Clayhead, yes it does work that way
The CBJ just took $3 million to finish the EIS on the NDC and used it for extending NDH. Besides, I am sure Rep. Munoz could get the Legislature to amend the bill giving CBJ greater flexibility in the use of those funds. Now if the library was combined with a ice rink, now you might have a constituency! LOL
Why do all the public servants receive such high wages?
All the jobs they list are two to three times the public sector. ----from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of December 2010, state and local government employees earned total compensation of $39.60 an hour, compared to $27.42 an hour for private industry workers - a difference of over 44 percent. This includes 35 percent higher wages and nearly 69 percent greater benefits. I think easing the taxes(municipal, county, state, federal), fees, certificates, licenses, tariffs, duties, insurance mandates, civil litigation (sexual, racial, shakedowns) etc, etc. Would be better for America.
Ranger
Take a math class.
"two to three times the public sector"
"difference of over 44 percent"
Both incorrect. Enroll in summer school, or get a math book from the library and study it.
Vote no on bond debt. Vote no on TEMP tax. Spend the savings on a class at U.A.S.
Uh, sorry akman...
He's right about the 44%. Maybe you should attend that UAS math class along with him.
(39.60 - 27.42) / 27.42 = .44
Ok lat...
I see the 44 percent now, I read it as pvt 44 percent of gov. wage.
Perhaps you can also explain the "two to three times the public sector" 39 is not double or tripple of 27.
Nope, Akman
Can't explain that part. That's why he'll be sitting next to you in class.
@AUKEBAY
I see your point about what it would cost the City, but there are many costs after the fact. Also, I do not separate the costs that are being paid by other sources, because that is not free money; nothing is free it costs somewhere.
Also, if I have $1200 in my pocket for rent, and a man tells me he will pay $800 to help me buy a car for $2000; I don't forgo paying my bills to buy the car.