Northpinellas: Pay now or pay later for library

"I think the commission, as well as the community, has got that extremely important decision to make," said City Manager Steve Stanton. "At some point, we will have to come back to the issue at hand: How big do we want this library?"

It seems like an easy question. In 1999 consultants told the commissioners a new library needed to be 93,000 square feet, if they wanted to match projected growth of the city by 2009.

That would cost $22.081-million.

The commission initially approved an alternative. The city would build the entire building, but use only 65,000 square feet for the library. The rest, 28,000 square feet, would be left unfinished, allowing for easy expansion. Total cost: $22.977-million -- $19.175-million now, and another $3.802-million to finish the job by 2012.

But last week the commission changed its plans, deciding to build 80,000 square feet for $19.042-million, a short-term savings of $133,000. If they want more, they could add another building at a cost of $4.243-million, raising the library's total cost to $23.285-million.

The hope was to use those figures to apply for a $500,000 state grant. But Mayor Bob Jackson said sticking with those figures would ultimately cost the city more money.

"I think it is garbage," said Jackson.

Jackson said the city is repeating past mistakes of planning as it goes. "Let's plan and build what we need," said Jackson, "instead of building and adding on."

But Commissioner Marty Shelby would prefer to see where the money is coming from, before they spend it.

"I refuse to go ahead blindly, especially considering there is a question considering whether the taxpayers would even support it," said Shelby.

The new plan is on the agenda at this week's commission meeting.

One problem many see is that the architect's 10-year period studied to determine space needed began in 1999.

With construction expected to begin in 2003 and completed by 2004, that's five years into the lifetime of the library.

"It will cost more if you wait," said Commissioner Pat Gerard, who sided with Jackson and Jean Halvorsen.

"The bottom line: Everybody wants a library," said Gerard. "And in the end, we will end up with a 93,000-square-foot library. That's certainly my hope."

Shelby, Harriet Crozier and Pat Burke wanted to know if a library of this nature is desired.

"Maybe the best thing to do is to put it to the voters, through a general referendum," Shelby said. "But we haven't even reached the point of discussing how we are going to pay for this. The only relevant decision was what we had to do to satisfy the grant application. Every other discussion is premature."

The seventh, and perhaps deciding, vote will come from Largo's newly elected commissioner, Charlie Harper, who openly questioned the city's spending tactics during his campaign.

Stanton said the current debate is emblematic of government, which too often focuses on short-term solutions instead of long-term planning. But he expects further conversation before a final decision is made.

"I don't think they are done," he said. "All they are doing is making a decision to keep that option open, and make sure we don't close an option."

Stanton recommends the larger size, which he believes is in the community's best interest. But he encourages each commissioner to solicit opinions from the neighbors and find out what is wanted.

"The library needs to be a certain size," he said. "And you can either pay now, or pay a little bit more later."

-- Michael Sandler can be reached at 445-4174 or sandler@sptimes.com.

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