July 1, 2005 Minutes
Members present: Linda Coates, Herb Snyder, Helen Levitt, Charles Pace
Members Absent: John Cosgriff, Pat Zavoral, Michael Sebille
Others Present: Richard Moorhead and Marcia Pulczinski from Image Group, City of Fargo staff, public, and media
I. Minutes
Helen Levitt moved to approve the minutes of May June 14, 2005. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
II. Announcements regarding branch site selection
The north and south sites have been voted on by the Library Board and the Building Committee. The joint recommendation of Ed Clapp Park on the south and Norhtport on the north is on the City Commission agenda for Tuesday, July 5.
III. Downtown library site selection discussion
Richard Moorhead distributed paper copies of the June 14 power point presentation and a summary of issues for the four remaining sites.
In addition to the $13,270,000 budget for the Civic Center parking lot site, other costs include relocating the lift station at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 3rd Street as well as relocating utilities. Each of these is estimated at $500,000. Flood protection along the east side of the Civic Center parking lot is estimated at $1,000,000. As this would benefit the entire city, this money would not directly come from the library budget, but other funding sources.
The Union Storage building is 91,000 square feet, which is 46,000 additional square feet not needed at this time. The $12,209,000 budget does not include $5,880,000 for refurbishing the extra space, which may or may not be recouped by a lease tenant. The original budget figure also does not include the cost of purchasing the land from the railroad estimated between $630,000 for the land to the east and $870,000 to include the land to the west. The Culligan Water building would be an additional purchase cost as well, though it would not be required. Vibration and noise control studies and solutions were not calculated into the budget.
As a building greater than 50 years old, it qualifies for renovation tax credits of up to 10% of the value, or $1,280,000 to $1,900,000. It also qualifies for historic tax credits of up to 20% of the value, or $2,560,000 to $3,800,000. If the historic tax credits were used for the cold storage building, windows may not be allowed to be added. It could be divided and only use renovation tax credits for the cold storage as this site is actually two buildings built at the same time. This would require another partner to own the building for the duration of the allowable tax credits. These tax credits may not be used entirely by the library if a lease tenant occupies a portion of the building.
IV. Public Comment
Union Storage could be an opportunity for a performing arts center to occupy the additional space. Renovations would be able to accommodate studio space, but it perhaps is not large enough for a concert hall.
Commissioner Mike Williams presented a copy of the 2003 master plan to the committee. In it, a flood wall was used to provide protection for public and private investments in the downtown area. A flood wall would help the citizens in lowering flood insurance costs. This is an opportunity to move forward.
Commissioner Linda Coates answered why the master plan has not yet been implemented with four different cost barriers; the cost of flood protection, utility relocation, displaced parking, and an expanded city hall.
The Civic Center parking lot is the largest public parking area in town. The south half of the lot generates $23,000 per year in revenue with 180 spaces. Integrated parking is needed when developing buildings in the downtown area. The current lot is a shared space available to city staff, library patrons, Civic Center event goers, and the general public. Although this has always been there, with the limited parking immediately adjacent to the current library, patrons may perceive this as not library parking. If a portion of 3rd Street is vacated to connect to available parking in a more visible way, some parking issues may be alleviated.
V. Downtown Library Decisions
Richard Moorhead distributed a site selection matrix with the four sites listed on one axis and the six selection criteria determined at the March 4 committee meeting on the other. With a rating of 3-2-1-0, committee members ranked each site according to each criterion. Economics, size fits program, parking/access, and location were then given the multiplier three according to the March 4 decision, and aesthetic/cultural, and sustainable design were given a multiplier of two. The first column is the total ranking for each site. The second column includes the multiplier effect of each criterion.
Charles: Addition: 11/29 New Construction: 4/12 Riverfront: 12/41
Union Storage: 8/23
Helen: Addition: 7/16 New Construction: 1/3 Riverfront: 15/40
Union Storage: 13/36
Herb: Addition: 5/8 New Construction: 4/11 Riverfront: 12/32
Union Storage: 15/40
Linda: Addition: 10/27 New Construction: 8/23 Riverfront: 11/29
Union Storage: 7/17
Richard: Addition: 9/24 New Construction: 9/21 Riverfront: 9/21
Union Storage: 9/22
Total: Addition: 42/104 New Construction: 26/70 Riverfront: 59/163
Union Storage: 52/138
Charles Pace moved to have a joint meeting between the building committee, library board and city commission with key city staff invited where the building committee will present its recommendation of the riverfront Civic Center parking lot as the site for the downtown library. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried. This working meeting will be open to the public and advertised when it is scheduled.
VI. Schedule for implementation
The schedule for implementation will be discussed after the City Commission discusses the recommendations of this committee and the library board.
The meeting was adjourned.