New Building Included In Bond Proposal

New technology, building improvements and computers for school libraries are the key ingredients of a $7.4 million bond issue being proposed by the Spokane County Library District.

The bond proposal will go before voters in the unincorporated area Sept. 19. It needs 60 percent approval to pass and would add $12 per year to the property tax bill on a $100,000 home.

The spending plan would allocate $1.9 million for a computer system with 50 terminals, $2 million for materials such as books, videos and tapes, and $3.5 million for new buildings, including one in Deer Park, as well as facility improvements such as addition of restrooms and handicapped accessibility.

Michael Wirt, library district director, said the computer technology would allow access to data and library card catalog materials 24 hours a day.

Also available would be access to free data and searches via the Internet and on-line services. But no direct connections or e-mail addresses would be issued.

Wirt said the county’s system would be on par with what has been developed by the city of Spokane. There are no plans to combine collections and library management, which is being proposed in a new local government charter that goes to voters in November.

Already the city library has started charging unincorporated area residents for library cards and 950 have so far signed up.

The goal of library technology purchases is not to provide computer services but access to library information from distant parts of the county and during odd hours, Wirt said. If approved, the library district would provide one computer terminal in each middle school and two in each high school.

“School superintendents are thrilled,” Wirt said. “This is something they haven’t been able to do, and we’re offering it to them at no cost.”

The library district serves 206,000 people in small towns and the unincorporated part of the county.

Among the buildings proposed for replacement is the old Deer Park Library, originally built as an elementary school and now used as City Hall.

Library trustees want to construct a stand-alone library with 6,000 square fee of space for use by the 14,000 people in and around the city. Though Deer Park is not part of the library district, it contracts with county libraries for service.

Because of that, Deer Park residents would benefit from a new $1.1 million building but will not get to vote on the bond proposal, nor will they directly pay for it .

That doesn’t bother Wirt, who said the building will serve far more people living in the unincorporated area around Deer Park than in the city.

The new building would be located on the same property as City Hall.

The bond also would pay for other expansion in Cheney, Airway Heights and Fairfield.

The only other library bond was approved in 1988 and was used for, among other things, a major expansion of the North Spokane Library at 44 E. Hawthorne Road.

District residents are paying about 11 cents per $1,000 of value on that issue, and it will be retired in two years.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Library bond facts Election: Sept. 19. Needs 60 percent approval to pass. Total bond: $7.43 million Estimated cost: 12 cents per thousand of assessed value - about $12 per year for 10 years for a $100,000 home. What it buys: Facility upgrades, technology, shelves and materials as well as new or expanded buildings in Deer Park, Cheney, Fairfield and Airway Heights.