Mayor Brown supports the library.

Mayor Mike Brown

The Special Election for the proposed Grand Forks Public library project is just 12 days away.

When I delivered the State of the City address in February, I talked about the many exciting things that are happening in our City. I mentioned the Library and I acknowledged that I had questions about the proposed project that needed to be addressed before I was ready to support it with a “yes” vote. I encouraged my fellow citizens to study the issues and become informed voters.

Today, I am here to tell you that I have done my homework.  I’ve visited the library, studied the reports, researched the usage levels, and talked to the experts.  Concerns have been addressed, and questions have been answered to my satisfaction.  I’m ready to vote “yes” to the plan for funding our Library Project.  I support the proposed 1% sales tax to raise the necessary $20.8 million to build a 21^st Century Library for the citizens of Grand Forks.

The problems here have been clearly documented.  Our library is well used and valued, but increased population and expanded offerings have pushed this 40-year-old structure well past its limits. The Grand Forks library has the largest circulation of any public library in the state. Usage has increased every year since it was built.  More than 825 people a day visit this building.  Based on current usage, we need a facility nearly twice this size to accommodate the existing patron traffic.  We need more room for materials, but also for children’s activities, computers, meetings, study groups, teens, staff and parking.

Since lack of space is the biggest issue, a remodeling of the current building will not solve our problems.  We have opinions from multiple experts, and this building is not structurally capable of supporting an additional floor.   We’ve learned that the mechanical system in this building is the most inefficient model ever made, with heating and cooling running simultaneously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  We also have serious issues of accessibility in this building, which prevent some of our residents from fully utilizing their public library.

These are significant problems that require big-budget solutions.  I have looked at the proposals, and it would cost approximately $18 million to remodel and add on to this building.  That is not a cost-effective solution, and it would force us to make compromising adaptations that are necessary when joining new construction with an existing building.  Total new construction is definitely the best solution.

The three-year Library Revitalization process that was spearheaded by local volunteers was effective in its fact-finding, research, comparative studies and planning. Their proposed solution has been thoughtfully developed, and it is the right one for our city at this time.

There is quite a bit of misinformation out there, and I want to help clarify a few things that may have been inaccurately represented in the past few weeks:

• The proposed library project will not exceed the $20.8 million budget as stated on the special election ballot.  All funding for the project will be provided by the temporary 1% sales tax.  As soon as the $20.8 million is raised, the sales tax is retired.  It’s ended.

•  The library will be located right here where the existing building stands, with adjacent property as needed to accommodate the plan.

• Voting “no” is not a solution.  There are serious deficiencies at our library. Many of these problems need to be corrected immediately.  Voting “no” will only prolong the problems, and in some cases the costs for correction will grow higher as each month passes.  How will we deal with the safety and accessibility issues?

• The public library is our responsibility.  The money for necessary upgrades, improvements and corrections must come from us.  A 1-cent sales tax is a funding mechanism that is less burdensome to residents, with a defined sunset that will be retired in three years or less.

• It is not a Taj Mahal that’s being proposed here.  It’s a functional library.  A library to provide our citizens with the necessary resources to compete in the classroom, the workforce, and everyday life.

If you are undecided on this issue, it’s time to do your homework. Ask questions, read the consultant reports, learn about the site selection process, and get a better understanding of the project scope.  This information is all available at the library website: www.gflibrary.com  If you prefer, you can request copies of the documents at the reference desk right here in the library.

To post specific questions regarding the project and to review the ongoing dialogue within our community, visit www.speakupforyourlibrary.com.  Information on this site is updated several times each day.

Most important of all, prepare yourself as an educated voter and go to the polls on Tuesday, May 3.

I urge you to join me in voting “yes” to lifelong learning.  “Yes” to informed citizens of all ages.  “Yes” to a resourceful and connected community.

Vote “yes” to fund the proposed project that will provide our residents with the 21^st Century Library we deserve.

As Mayor Brown said – educate yourself and ask questions before you vote. We invite you to ask questions right here in the comments.

Q+A with Mayor Brown: growing our future leaders.

Here, we will share a weekly update addressing Mayor Brown’s questions, which are probably your questions, too. (And, if you’re still puzzled, be sure to comment directly on this post or ask us here. We want to be on the same page.) Answers to questions 1 & 2 regarding location can be found here. The answer to question 3 regarding demographics can be found here and question 4 about the sales tax here.

Mayor Brown’s Question 5: Does the library currently serve as a safe place for kids after school?  Is this a continued, diminished or expanded role for the proposed new library?

Library Board’s A: If you have visited the Grand Forks Public Library recently, especially after school and on the weekends, you know that school-aged children are using the library in record numbers.

Children come to the library to:

• ask a librarian for help locating materials for their homework assignments,
• to study,
• to meet other students to work on school projects,
• to use the computers,
• and to find something fun to read.

They also come to the library for various programs and events. A sample of recent events for school-aged children includes:

• Kids in the Kitchen: Mission Nutrition,
• the 39 Clues Book Club,
• Wimpy Kid Day,
• a LEGO event,
• and twice-weekly story time events for the younger children.

The number of programs and events for children has expanded dramatically in the past two years. However, that expansion is limited because the library has only one meeting room, which needs to be shared with all other library events. With increased space in a new facility, the Grand Forks Public Library would be able to meet the community’s demand for more children’s programming and events.

Children often come to the Grand Forks Public Library to study. The library is used by students of all types, including homeschooled, distance education, tutored and college students. However, group work is very difficult in the current facility since there are no private areas for students to use. Instead, groups must sit at tables in the main library where they may disturb or be disturbed by other library users. The new facility would address this problem by providing several small, quiet study rooms and group study rooms.

Teens

There is also a great need for space in the library for the community’s teenagers. Too old for the children’s area with its knee-high book bins and pirate’s ship play area, yet too young for the hushed atmosphere near the adults, teens are in desperate need of a place to call their own. They are at an age where it is essential to keep them reading and hooked into literacy-promoting activities, yet our current facility isn’t welcoming to teens and doesn’t have the space to create the needed area for teens. A new facility would not only offer that space and the resources teens want and need, it would give teens the chance to help design that space.

The Grand Forks Public Library is an important place for children and their families, particularly after school. The current facility is being used to its capacity but is not large enough to meet the community’s wants and needs. A new facility would help to ensure that the children of Grand Forks today have all they need to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Q+A with Mayor Brown: Sales tax.

Here, we will share a weekly update addressing Mayor Brown’s questions, which are probably your questions, too. (And, if you’re still puzzled, be sure to comment directly on this post or ask us here. We want to be on the same page.) Answers to questions 1 & 2 regarding location can be found here. The answer to question 3 regarding demographics can be found here.

Mayor Brown’s Question 4: I initially questioned the impact of a 1% sales tax increase on our local economy. I have since heard information from sources like the Retail Task Force/Buxton Report that perhaps the impact isn’t a deal breaker. Has there been any other information suggesting this?

Library Board’s A: The Mayor has asked what effect the increased sales tax might have on business in Grand Forks. The answer is that it is likely to have very little impact on shopping habits.

Some of the reasons for this conclusion are as follows:

• In Fargo, consumers pay an additional ½-cent county sales tax recently levied by Cass County. For the first six months, Grand Forks will enjoy a sales tax advantage over Fargo of ¾ cents. For nine months following that, Fargo’s sales tax will be ¼ cent lower than Grand Forks’. Then for 23 months Fargo will be ¾ cents lower than Grand Forks, unless Fargo is forced to raise its sales tax further to pay for the rapidly escalating cost of flood protection.

• However, if you figure in what you spend on gas and depreciation, it would make no economic sense to spend two and a half hours driving 150 miles just to pay a lower sales tax unless you were going to spend over $10,000 in one trip.

• The Buxton retail study found that choice and variety of merchandise are perhaps the most important determinants in making decisions about where one shops.

• A recent study in California by a well-known municipal tax consultant found that sales tax increases in more than two dozen California cities had no measurable effect on sales.

• An economist with Beacon Economics in California said that “in the long run people don’t base their buying decisions on sales tax rates.” They tend to shop in places they enjoy because of the atmosphere and amenities. “One of the highest sales taxes you might pay in Los Angeles County is in the city of Santa Monica, which has a 9.75% sales tax. But people flock there to shop because they like going there.”

• One advantage of the 1-cent sales tax is that we would be finished paying for it much sooner than with a ¾ cent or ½ cent tax. At current collection rates, a 1-cent tax pays off the cost of the new library in about 32 months (a little over 2.5 years). The other two would be with us for about 42 months (3.5 years) or 64 months (5.3 years).

• A new library will enhance the business climate in Grand Forks. It will be one more reason to be proud of what the city has to offer. The greater the attachment to Grand Forks, the more likely one is to shop there. Also, weekend reading events and exhibits at the library are another reason for patrons to stay in the city.

• If the new library were not paid for by the sales tax, we would have to make repairs to the current library’s electrical, air conditioning, heating and roof systems. The current elevator must be replaced by the year 2013, and there is also an urgent need to bring the current library into compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards. An approximate estimate for those updates is a cost between $2 and $5 million. This would have to be paid for with property taxes, which most people find more burdensome than sales taxes.

Q+A with Mayor Brown: Demographics.

Here, we will share a weekly update addressing Mayor Brown’s questions, which are probably your questions, too. (And, if you’re still puzzled, be sure to comment directly on this post or ask us here. We want to be on the same page.) Answers to questions 1 & 2 regarding location can be found here.

Question 3: What demographic(s) of our community does the library uniquely serve? Are others able to serve these particular groups of people?

Library Board’s Answer: The mission of the Grand Forks Public Library (GFPL) is to connect the community, enrich the mind and inspire the imagination. To be truly successful in accomplishing this mission, all demographic categories within the city of Grand Forks must be impacted. At GFPL, we strive to provide “something for everyone.”

According to our most recent library user survey, most patrons came to the Grand Forks Public Library to (1) check out books, (2) check out DVDs and (3) use the computers. The complete breakdown of reasons people go to our library (click chart to expand):

Slightly more females (58%) than males (42%) used the GFPL. The breakdown by age is as follows:

November 2010 scientific research conducted by DMD Consulting verified that users of the Grand Forks Public Library are dispersed evenly across the community. People who live on the north side of town use the library the same amount as those living on the far south side. East and west of Washington also have very similar usage numbers.

The research results also revealed there is widespread support for building a new library. Regardless of whether or not they actually used the library, 74.2% of a random sample of Grand Forks residents was in favor of a new library. This holds true across wards as well. From the highest support (Ward 3 at 75.6%) to the lowest support (Ward 6 at 64.2%), the majority of people are in favor of a new library. The support holds true regardless of income level.

Usage of the Grand Forks Public Library continues to increase, both in checkout of materials and in usage of computers. This data is consistent with the findings of several national studies. A January 2010 Harris Interactive Poll provides compelling evidence that a decade-long trend of increasing library use is continuing – and even accelerating – during these difficult economic times. According to the study, two-thirds (65%) of Americans indicated they have used their public library in the past year. Eighty percent (80%) of those ages 18-24, 70% ages 25-34 and 73% ages 35-44 have used their library in the past year.

When asked about services used at the public library in the past year, 77% of Harris Poll respondents reported taking out books (print, e-books, or audio books), which is the number one use. Second was consulting a librarian (67%), followed by connecting to the internet (41%) and checking email (25%).

These materials, services and library events are not offered in quite the same way anywhere else in our community. The Grand Forks Public Library serves the entire population without regard to status; young and old, rich and poor, north end and south end residents – all receive unique niche services, free of charge, from the helpful and caring staff at our public library.

Q+A with Mayor Brown: Location.

Back in February at the state of the city address, Mayor Mike Brown explained he had questions surrounding the library project.

Since then, we’ve had some time to explore his questions and further explain why we’ve made the decisions we’ve made.

Here, we will share a weekly update addressing Mayor Brown’s questions, which are probably your questions, too. (And, if you’re still puzzled, be sure to comment directly on this post or ask us here. We want to be on the same page.)

Questions 1 and 2: When looking for a location for the Grand Forks Public Library, why was the line drawn at 32nd Avenue South, omitting anything further south?  Is the proposed location (the current site) truly the best location and how sure are we that if the vote passes, it should go there?

Answer: There were no restrictions placed on proposed sites at the beginning of the site selection process in January of 2009. A total of 22 possible locations in all areas of the city were considered. Sites were evaluated and ranked according to a standardized evaluation process provided by the library consultants.

In spring of 2010, when the Library Task Force began the process of narrowing down the site options to five finalist locations, it was suggested that three properties south of 32^nd Avenue be removed from the list of considerations. This decision was based on citizen input received via early comments in the Speak Up for Your Library process. Citizens overwhelmingly indicated that their public library should be:  centrally located, in close proximity to the high schools and middle schools, and easily accessed by those who walk or ride bike.

At the request of City Council, the Wellness Center location – situated in the 50^th Avenue area of South Washington Street – was reinserted as one of the three finalist options under consideration in July 2010. That location remained as an option until the final site – the current library site – was unanimously approved by the Building Committee on January 26, 2011.

If you check a map of the city you will see that the library is located smack dab in the middle of the community as it exists in 2011. There was no other possible site with more centralized access for patrons, including pedestrians and bicyclists.

Room for expansion and additional parking are available by purchasing adjacent property. Acquisition of a lot to the east will allow the necessary space to accommodate a city bus stop at the library – something that has not been offered for more than 30 years.

Access to the location is excellent, just a block off of two of the community’s best-traveled arteries:  South Washington Street and 17^th Avenue. Visibility is still a concern, but options exist for additional signage.

After carefully considering the options available at this time, the Library Board and Building Committee members have endorsed the current library site as the best possible location for new construction. Forty years of faithful service to our growing community has reinforced the site as a decidedly familiar location for library patrons – at the intersection of Library Circle and Library Lane – and easily accessible from all four directions.