Should the Haines Borough spend $30,000 on a library addition design for assembly chambers that would ultimately cost upwards of $430,000 to build?
Assembly members were divided 3-3 Tuesday evening in a vote, recommended by director of public facilities Brad Ryan, to authorize MRV Architects’ designs for new assembly chambers as part of the Haines Borough Public Library’s expansion. Mayor Jan Hill broke the tie, pushing the project forward.
“When I first heard about this project, I freaked and I went to [the manager],” Hill said. She said she was originally concerned about changing the dynamics of the library, but once she heard the proposed chambers would have their own entrance and bathrooms, and not take place in the common room, she supported it.
Assembly members Tom Morphet, Brenda Josephson, and Stephanie Scott voted against the ordinance.
Josephson and Scott said they didn’t support the investment because of its overlap with the Community Development Block Grant fund they voted to move forward in the same meeting. If selected, the grant would appropriate approximately $500,000 for an upgrade to the public safety building, which currently encompasses the assembly chambers, which would be matched by the borough.
Josephson said that the borough doesn’t have excess funds to spend on both the grant and the library extension. “If we were in a situation where we’re not going to get the block grant then I would go forward with this, Josephson said.
Lende, who supports moving the chambers into the library, proposed postponing the vote until after the assembly hears back about the grant. “Why would we work on changes for the library concurrently with the motion we just passed?” Lende asked.
Schnabel said that waiting a month would probably interrupt the library expansion project that is currently being designed.
Maidy said that waiting to vote could jeopardize the possibility of an extension, because the library needs to move forward with their building plans. “I don’t think the [grant] and this resolution are exclusive,” Maidy said.
Morphet said he didn’t see an inherent contradiction on moving ahead with both fronts, but he was uncomfortable with committing to a $30,000 plan without public opinion. He said committing to the architectural plan is essentially asking the assembly to commit to the full amount for the entire expansion, or else it’s a waste of $30,000.
Morphet said he’s not convinced that the public, “who pays the rent around here,” really wants to spend the “rent” on the chambers.
Morphet proposed waiting a month to vote on the resolution to get a sense of public opinion, a motion that failed with assembly members William Prisciandaro, Lende and Maidy opposed. Hill broke the 3-3 vote again by voting against postponement.
Schnabel said that the $30,000 appropriation for the library will have two public hearings. “It won’t be too late at that time to cancel or revise the contract that may be made, so that’s a way to measure public support for that,” she said. Public hearings will be on Nov. 6 and Dec. 4 during regular assembly meetings.
Lende said she thought that combining the assembly chambers with the library would encourage participation and community involvement. “The library board does consider this to be a worthwhile endeavor,” Haines Borough Public Library director Carolyn Goolsby told the assembly. “The library is a place of books, but we are the place for discourse.”