Last night 58% of Springville voters approved a $9.8 million bond to expand their public library. Additional funds may drawn from the city's building reserve, open reserves, and general fund budget money. (Springville sets aside $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year for building projects). Construction is scheduled for completion in 2010.
Springville's population is projected to be 30,536 in 2010—three times the size of Alpine's 9,884. At 18,107, Highland's projected population is twice as large as Alpine. Source: The governor's Office of Planning and Budget.
The median price of a home currently on the market in Alpine is $592,900—2.7 times of Springville's $219,900 and slightly more than Highland's $549,000. Source: Yahoo! Real Estate.
From Springville's website, "Springville Says Yes"
Library Bond Passes: Fact Sheet 2008
The bond election amount has been set at $9.8 Million. This will allow for construction of a new library of between 35,000 and 45,000 square feet. Public input will be sought on final design. Current plans are construction will commence at the end of Summer 2009 and the library will be complete in late 2010.
Budget or Estimated Cost :
- Construction - $ 9,800,000
- Architects - $ 690,000
- Site Work - $ 1,800,000
- Fixtures & Furnishings - $ 784,000
- Contingency - $ 1,000,000
- Total Budget $ 14,074,000
* According to the Citizen Survey, residents strongly indicated a willingness to pay increased taxes for a library. All citizens will speak at the election and the bond amount is substantially less than a majority of the survey respondents were willing to pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
* What is the project? Springville City hopes to build a new library. The library is currently in initial planning stages and a bond election has been scheduled for November, 2008 to ask the public if they would like a new library. The bond election amount has been set for $9.8 Million. This would allow for construction of a new library of between 35,000 and 45,000 square feet.
* How big will the library be if there is a $9,800,000 construction budget? Last year the average library in the westerns United States cost about $230 per square foot. If prices remain the same, the library would be 40,000 to 45,000 square feet in size.
* The location isn’t big enough and the creek isn’t safe for the children. We have asked these questions to the professionals. They assure us that the location is big enough and that the creek can be an exciting part of the library plan. After the bond election, detailed planning will commence and these questions will be thoroughly discussed with the public. If the location is not suitable bond proceeds can be used to build a library in a better location. The goal is to allow the public to have their say in all aspects of this project.
* I have heard that this building could be as big as the Museum. Why should it be so big? The national standard is just 1 square foot per person in the community. That is not much when you think about it. In comparison, our library gets 2 visitors for every 1 visitor that comes to the museum. Last year almost a half million items were checked out of the current library.
* Where is the rest of the money coming from? The City has committed to paying the balance through other funding sources and donations. The City Council has not made a final determination regarding which funding source to use, but there are a number of choices available to them. There are funds anticipated to remain in the building reserve after the current projects are completed ($1,000,000 to $4,200,000) and the City has money in open reserves as well ($1,000,000 to $2,000,000). The City Council can also allocate general fund budget money for a library building project (The City has been saving $500,000 to a $1,000,000 annually for building projects).
* What will my tax increase be? It depends on the fair market value of your home. The library bond would increase your taxes by an estimated $2.26 a month per $100,000 in valuation. See the chart below for other values (The median price home in Springville is currently $233,332.)
Property value: $233,332 less 45% Exemption = Taxable value $128,333
Annual tax impact: $63.19
Monthly tax impact: $5.27
Property value: $300,000 less 45% Exemption = Taxable value 135,000
Annual tax impact: $81.24
Monthly tax impact: $6.77
Property value: $400,000 less 45% Exemption = Taxable value $108.33
Annual tax impact: $108.33
Monthly tax impact: $9.03
Property value: $500,000 less 45% Exemption = Taxable value $275,000
Annual tax impact: $135.41
Monthly tax impact: $11.28
* Is the tax increase permanent? No. The tax will be in place only while the bond is being paid. After that, the tax increase will automatically come off. In addition, as new residents come to Springville, they will pay a share of the costs and your costs will go down. In other words, new building in Springville will help pay for the bond.
* Will there be enough parking? Yes. The current library has 26 parking spaces and it shares those spaces with the Justice Court, Utilities, Community Development and City Administration. The new site will have about 75 on-site parking spaces just for the library.
* Why use bonds? Bonds are the least expensive way to borrow money to invest in facilities and infrastructure. Bonds are a way to get money immediately to finance projects over a long period of time, and at the lowest cost to the taxpayers. Bonds are also an equitable way to share the cost with current and future residents and businesses that will all benefit from the facility.
* What if the bond doesn’t pass? The current library can stay in operation at its current location. It is less than half of the size necessary to handle TODAY’s population. The City Council would then analyze the situation and decide what to do next.
Wednesday, 05 November 2008
Article from The Daily Herald
A bond for the building of a new library in Springville passed on Tuesday. With a majority of precincts reporting, more than 58 percent of voters had approved construction of the library. Debbie Balzotti, a city volunteer and proponent of the bond, said the library will be a positive development for the community. "I'm thrilled that, with the passage of the bond, we'll be able to build a new library," she said, "and that it can be one that addresses our present and future needs, and that we were able to look past the current worries about our national economy." The $9.8 million bond will cover the construction costs not already met by the funds available in the city's reserves.
The library bond would increase taxes by an estimated $2.26 a month per $100,000 in valuation. The median home price in Springville is currently $233,332. The library's total budget is estimated at $14,074,000. This is the breakdown of costs: construction, $9.8 million; architects, $690,000; site work, $1.8 million; fixtures and furnishings, $784,000; contingency, $1 million. Balzotti said extra efforts to publicize this issue helped the bond pass. "I would like to give special thanks to those who quietly worked hard and encouraged people to come out and vote for the bond," she said. "I think it made a difference in this case."
The 35,000- to 45,000-square-foot facility would be much larger than the current 8,000-square-foot library, which spills into the City Council chambers and other areas of the city offices. It will have auditoriums that can be used after-hours and separate areas for children's rooms and study rooms for adults.
1 comment:
Linda and I are both unhappy with the current library plans. It seems quite clear that there has been little to no research on this topic by anyone involved at ACT or the city.
We have been asked to join the ACT board. We intend to lay out our concerns at the first board meeting we attend next week, and I'm half expecting that they will ask us to step down. :-)
We also have a friend on the City Council, and we plan to take him out to lunch next week and lay out our concerns with him as well.
I feel very strongly that we should throw in with Highland and make a really good North Utah County library.
Here's some interesting tidbits.
1. ACT is pushing to have the city host an interim library in the vacated police offices. If that doesn't work, they intend to start an interim library in the little brown house on their property that was just vacated by the photography studio.
2. The ACT gala is this coming Saturday. It is an annual fund-raising event. Attendance RSVPs this year are quite low. I expect that the current state of the economy may have a negative effect on their fund-raising efforts.
3. Here is a link to a great article in the SL Trib on a study conducted on the need for another theater in Salt Lake County. The study clearly shows that the area cannot support another theater there.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10902373
4. The Covey Center in Provo cost $8.5 million and only has a 680-seat theater. It does not have many of the other pieces that the ACT kluged proposal has. To keep it running they have regular fund-raisers sponsored by the likes of Zion's Bank. The primary driver of the ACT proposal has been pretty vague about up-front and maintenance costs, and has misrepresented attendance at the annual ACT shows. Except for two shows at Beauty and The Beast, they have NEVER sold out the 800-seat auditorium at Timberline. There is no reason to believe that they could ever sell out a 1200-seat theater.
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