Council tries to sell land swap

Mathis Winkler

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:18 a.m.

It's not that City Council members don't want a new library in the middle of town.

The problem, they explained to 10 residents at a sparsely attended town hall meeting Monday night, is that there's not enough money in city coffers to pay for the $10 million project. City officials believe there is a better chance to get private funding for the building in a different part of town.

That's why they want to use land set aside for a library on Alexander Road near Martin Luther King Boulevard to build a badly needed, second police station. Money for that project could come from bonds worth $35 million the city is planning to issue next year.

In return, the city's library district would receive land in a proposed master-planned community on 1,900 acres at the northern end of the city, where officials believe there is a greater chance to get donations from developers, home builders and other businesses.

"The only thing that's sure in this world are taxes and death," said Councilman William Robinson. "But there's a greater opportunity to get money from (businesses.)"

According to a proposed development agreement for the 1,900 acres that will come before the council on Wednesday, the city will receive a 3.1-acre site for a library near a park. If city officials have not built a library on that land within 9 1/2 years, they will instead have to use the land to build a park.

Several residents said they still think city officials had not tried hard enough to get money for a library near their homes.

"The people in our area have been under the impression that a library will be built," said Bill Dolan, president of the Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association, a development near the proposed library site.

"There are other pieces of land available (for a police station,)" he said.

Rick Lemmon, who said he lives about two blocks from the site of contention, felt differently.

"I would rather see a police station there," he said. "If the library gets built in 10 to 15 years, my kids are already out of school."

Planning Commissioner Anita Wood, who also lives in the area, said she hoped that a recently opened satellite library would remain in the area if a bigger library is built farther north.

"If we have to give up the site, at least make sure that we keep the satellite library," she said.

That, again, will be a question of money, said City Manager Kurt Fritsch.

"We're just trying to be creative and come up with the best solution for all citizens," he said.

After the meeting, Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said she too thinks a library would have a better chance of getting built up north.

But she said she was concerned residents had not been informed of the proposal sooner.

"People don't have enough info," she said. "We left out going to the neighborhoods and talking to them first."

City officials said they will hold more meetings before making a decision on the proposed land swap.