5/21/09
The Española Public Library Board rolled out plans May 7 for a brand-new library that would likely be financed by a bond to be put to voters for approval this fall.
“I don’t know how many of you know the history behind the library at the Lucero Center, but it was built in 1974 as a temporary location while a permanent location was found,” Beth Teel, board member for the Friends of the Library, said. “It’s still there.”
Specifics are still scarce on how large the new library would be, what it would look like or where it would be located.
Library Board Chairman Daniel Roybal read out recommendations for a new library that former library director Ann Moore left before she resigned. Those recommendations call for enough space for a 100,000-book collection, a conference room that would double as a children’s storytelling room, twice the office space, improved wireless connections, additional storage space and a snack area, all in a building twice as large as the space the current library occupies. The library currently occupies about 9,664 square feet of the building it shares with the Española Recreation Center on Paseo de Oñate, next to City Hall, Community Services Director Len Cata said.
Board member and former New Mexico governor David Cargo suggested finding a property owner to donate several acres of land for the new facility, while Mayor Joseph Maestas instead suggested building it on city property.
Construction would be financed through a $6 million bond issue, which would be paid for a by a new property tax within city limits that would have to be approved by voters, Maestas said. The size of the tax increase would depend on whether the bond is for the entire $6 million and over how many years it would be repaid.
Maestas said he has already signed a $28,500 contract with investment banking firm George K. Baum and Company to manage the bond election and sell the bonds. The company would only be paid if the city decides to hold the bond election and it passes, according to the contract.
City procurement policy requires the City Council’s finance committee to approve all contracts higher than $25,000. City Manager Veronica Albin and Procurement Office Bernadine Martinez said that to their knowledge, that policy has not been followed since the Council adopted it in 2007.
“It’s impractical,” Albin said. “It would tie our hands for months. What we’ve been doing is following the state procurement code for all purchases.”
State law requires the city to bid out all transactions above certain amounts — $50,000 in the case of “professional services,” such as a bond consultant.
The bond could butt heads with a separate, $19 million bond election the Española School District is considering, also in the fall.
The District is already putting forward another property tax increase this month, An election on a two-mil levy for the District is scheduled for Tuesday. If that passed, the District will likely hold a separate bond election sometime after the new school year starts in August, School Board President Leonard Valerio said.
“We still want to pursue the bond, but we want to see how things come out with this mil levy,” Valerio said. “(The Library) has every right to hold a bond (election), just like we do. So there might be two conflicting elections this fall. If the Library does decide to go for this bond, I wish them luck, it’s a lot of work.”
Maestas said the city will reserve at least $10,000 in the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year to pay for the bond election.
Roybal said if the District does hold its bond election, that may require the Library Board to reconsider its options.
“We definitely need to look into this some more,” he said. “It’s generally not a good idea to do two bond issues at the same time. You’re asking people to dig pretty deep into their pockets.”
To show voters they’re serious about the project, Library Board members said they hope to raise $1 million from public and private grants and have plans for the new library complete before November. Maestas said he would ask city staff to seek proposals from architectural and engineering firms to prepare the plans.
The bond election would require approval from the City Council. District 1 Councilor Alfred Herrera pointed out the Council may soon increase utility rates throughout the city, and must consider the current burden on citizens already dealing with an economic downturn before approving a bond election. City voters just approved a quarter-percent gross receipts tax increase last summer.
“It raises some questions on whether we’re expecting too much from the citizens,” Herrera said. “That said, many times citizens are in favor of digging into their pockets, depending on what the project is. Public libraries are generally well-received by citizens.”