Library Plans, Levy Drive Ready Board Needs $3 Million To Pay For 24,000-Square-Foot Building

After a year of work, the East Bonner County Library board is ready to unveil designs for a new 24,000-square-foot building.

Now all the board needs is $3 million from residents to pay for it.

“We tried, tried and tried over the years to do this without going to the taxpayers, but we could never come up with enough money,” said board member Ted Bowers.

So when library officials show off the new plans at Community Hall today from 5 to 7 p.m., they will also kick off a levy campaign. Voters in the library district will go to the polls Feb. 6.

“I’m optimistic about it,” said Library Director James Murray. “This would be the first time the public has ever approved money for a library building in this county.”

A bond was put to voters about 10 years ago to remodel the existing 67-year-old building. It was turned down.

But recently residents have supported plans to move out of the old building, voting in library trustees who favored construction of a new facility.

“We have a united board and we have a good history of being fiscally conservative,” Bowers said. “I think our chances of passing a levy now are as good as they ever will be.”

The current 8,000-square-foot library is stuffed to capacity. Its wiring, plumbing and heating systems are outdated and parking spaces are scarce.

The new facility will have three times as much space, public meeting rooms, study rooms, a children’s reading area, computer room and plenty of parking.

It will be built at the corner of Division and Cedar streets, which is within walking distance of five public schools.

The district plans to sell the existing library for at least $400,000 and socked away enough money to pay architectural fees on the new facility.

The proposed 10-year levy would cost taxpayers about $20 annually on a home with a $100,000 taxable value. Only residents within the library district, which excludes Priest River, Priest Lake and the Blanchard area, will be assessed. The levy needs 55 percent of the votes cast to pass.

“We only want to have to do this once, but if it doesn’t pass we will keep working on it,” Bowers said.

If voters ante up the money, Murray said construction could begin in late summer and the library could open by January of 1997.

“It’s a critical levy, but our primary reason for (today’s) reception is to let the public see what the new building will look like and to ask questions.”

, DataTimes