Library Board of Trustees

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY Held in the Art Room of the Community Center 223 Little Falls Street, Falls Church, VA 22046 February 5, 2015 1. A PRESENTATION TO THE PUBLIC BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXPLAINING THE NEED FOR AN EXPANSION/RENOVATION OF THE MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY ALONG WITH THE CONCEPTUAL PLANS FOR THIS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Board Chair Brad Gemand showed a Power Point presentation that outlined for the public information about the needs for the library. He described the Vision of the library and how the Board envisions its future. He said that the library holds many cultural and educational events and is placed in the heart ofthe City. He talked briefly about the history ofthe library which was founded in 1899 and was specifically built as the first library in the Northern Virginia. It produced its first catalog in 1904. Then, in 1953, Mary Riley Styles, the chairwoman ofthe Library Board and a civic leader, donated family land for the library location on its current site. Brad went on to describe the library as a single site library where all activities are occurring in a very small building. He mentioned the national library Star Award which the library has received the seven years it has been given out. He then moved on to show the population growth of the City and its projections for the next twenty years. He stated that 91% of the Falls Church residents have an active library card, and he noted that the library's service growth and demands have increased significantly during the past 10 years--even faster than the City's population growth. He explained the graphs, and suggested that people look at it more closely at the library's webpage: www.fallschurchva.gov/LibraryMasterPlan. Brad mentioned that when people move into the City for the schools, parents enroll their kids in school and then they look for the library and get a library card. He said that preschool and young adult programs are extremely popular. He also talked about the 2013 Master Plan. The City hired consultants to evaluate the feasibility of building a third floor on the existing building and maximize the current lot and space of the existing building. The consultants determined that adding a third floor is not feasible due to engineering limitations. They presented the Library Board with four possible options to expand the building to meet its future needs on its current site. He talked about how the consultants gathered their information through a series of public meetings with interested groups, consultation with City leaders and City staff, as well as Boards and Commissions. All age groups were consulted. Brad then presented the findings of what people wanted for their library. They expressed a preference for a warm atmosphere, an interior design with a human scale, a great collection, a "green" building in its present location, which is walkable for many residents, larger program spaces and meeting spaces for tutoring, and other community needs. Brad then talked about the previous Capital Improvement Project (CIP) plan submitted to the Planning Commission, which was not accepted. The Commission, instead, asked the Library Board to consider what could be accomplished with an $8M budget. The consultants were asked to come back and design a building that met the budgetary demands, and they created two different plans for expansion to either west or east providing 6,600 sq. ft. in either scenario for the same cost. Each option offers expanded and improved spaces needed for the library and an entry on Park Avenue. Brad presented the conceptual plans and the interiors. He showed the comparison between the west, which preserves the on-site parking and drive-up book drop, best interior light and layout versus the east option which preserves green space and is closer to possible new parking option. He explained the renovations needed to the current building--mentioning the problematic and inefficient HV AC, the old elevator which is hard to find parts for, the need for energy efficient lighting, the lack of American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, problematic plumbing and the need for larger public restrooms to accommodate the number of people now using the building. He noted that the consultants said that that if the library is not renovated it will still require expensive remediation to solve these issues. He pointed out the estimated project cost for either the west or east option which was $8,381,605 fully furnished/equipped, which equates to $339 per sq. ft. The current CIP includes $8M for the library project, and the new expansion/renovation plan will be presented to the Planning Commission on Monday, February 9, 2015 with the Board's request that it remain in the CIP plan. Brad also presented the parking deck proposal at 313 Park A venue, which is a separate, but parallel project from the library. This parking deck which would be located between the library and the medical building on Park A venue would have 109 spaces. The lower level will be for the medical building staff and patients, and the second level would be for the library, public parking for City Hall, Farmers Market, Broaddale Shopping Center and other area businesses. He showed the two different views for the expanded library either west or east with the parking deck in place. He said that this project proposal is to provide critical renovations and add new space for up to 20 to 25 years. It capitalizes on the synergy of civic activity in the immediate area and allows the library to remain open during the construction. He said that all the information in the presentation he gave tonight would be at the library website (www.fallschurchva.gov/LibraryMasterPlan) with all the contact information for the Library Board, the Foundation, and the Library Director. Brad mentioned there is a second potential project which the Board does not know much about. The Board has been approached by a Council member telling them about the possibility that the Mason Row development might have space for the library. In this option, the library would have to move totally to Mason Row at the comer of Park Avenue and North West Street. Brad showed a conceptual picture of the architectural rendering of what the library might look like which the Library Board had received just that afternoon. The library would have two stories resulting in a total of about 24,000 sq. ft., and several members of Council suggested that it could be a good solution for the library and would have sufficient parking. One Board member said the Board still must consider the cost of the Mason Row project versus the cost of the renovation/expansion that the Board has already presented in its CIP proposal to the Planning Commission. However, the Board expressed that it prefers that the library remain at its current location because it is in the civic heart of the City and in an increasingly populated and walkable center of the City. After the presentation, Brad opened the meeting for a question and answer session from the public. The questions asked are attached to these Minutes. Respectfully submitted, L-7~~ tV'vu- iV.?t/~ 7~1fL£vvrL_ Mary W: McNlahon Library Director Approved: ~ B~and, Chair Copies: Board of Trustees, City Manager, Library Reference Desk, Staff Bulletin Board, City Clerk, City Council, Historical Commission, Library Web Page Questions at the Library Board of Trustees Special Public Meeting 1. -A person asked how he can find information in the City website about the aspects of the covenant from the Styles family. He also asked if the parking at the Mason Row project will be in the parkway or underground. He asked if the raze and rebuilt project is dead. He also asked if it's possible to get a projection of 50 years with the $8M with a possibility of having a library branch. 2. How many people are City residents vs Fairfax and Arlington? He also asked if the $8M will be the plan B. He asked how much the ADA amount is required. He doesn't think that kindles will kill the libraries. 3. Of the $8M, how much money will go to ADA compliance? 4. Is there a library specific ADA. How many people come to the library in a wheelchair? 5. Are the Styles families living? 6. If the library moves, what might be built at the current location and what would be the implications? 7. Do we have the $8M for the West renovation/expansion to go forward? 8. When might a referendum for a property tax rate increase occur? 9. Could they start the process in July 2017? 10. Why are other libraries around the area not ADA compliant? 11. Do we know how much are we spending per capita in comparison vs other neighbors on library's services? 12. It seems that we have 3 times more users in the library than residents. Why? 13. A person said that he didn't have to get a library card in order to use Arlington library's services. Why do people from other counties have MRSPL library cards? 14. A person asked how he can lobby in behalf ofthe library. When is the referendum coming up? Can he go to "search" in the website and write CIP to find all the dates? 15. When is the Council planning to consider these options? 16. Is Mason Row a separate project besides the expansion renovation library project? Is it an either or an or situation? What is the advantage for the City to relocate the library to the Mason Row project? 17. Did anybody mentioned where the Library would be in the Mason Row project? Would the library be on top of the movie theatre? 18. Has the library looked for private funding? 19. In terms of capacity in the proposed expansion/renovation, how many more books will be able to be housed.