After months of debate and $10,000 of extra expense, architects for a proposed new library have narrowed potential sites for the project to two finalists, one of which was recommended by Española city staff in July.
Architects from Albuquerque-based Dekker Perich Sabatini have selected a currently vacant 2.3-acre city-owned lot behind the Bond House Museum on Bond Street and the vacant site of the former Corley Ford dealership on Paseo de Oñate as the two potential sites for a new public library, said Patricia Trujillo, the president of the Coalition for a New Library.
The architectural firm was hired in November under a $30,000 contract. The original estimate for the design costs was $20,000, but Acting City Manager Veronica Albin said the extra money was added to compensate the firm for a few changes in the scope of the contract, including site selection.
The 3.7-acre Corley Ford site was proposed by the architects as being a good size, and easily visible location for the project, along with having good proximity to the Española Plaza, Albin said. The same criteria were deciding factors for the Bond Street site, she said. The former site is currently owned by C.L. Hunter, and would have to be purchased from him in order to serve as the site. After one preliminary meeting with Albin, Hunter indicated he would be willing to sell, but negotiations have gone no further, she said. Before the decision is made, the city would have to obtain a recent appraisal of the property, she said.
“I’ve called C.L. to see whether he has a recent appraisal and to sort of see where we would be with (purchasing the site),” she said. “So far I have not gotten a call back so I don’t know much more.”
Hunter did not return calls for comment.
Site selection was added to the architect’s scope of work at the insistence of Mayor Joseph Maestas. The members of a library task force put together to decide on what should be included in the library sent out the requests for design proposals with the Bond Street site in mind, but Maestas said he did not want to limit the choices. He also indicated that he would prefer the library to be located at the former site of the Española post office, also on Bond Street, or along the Main Street section of Paseo de Oñate. Other sites discussed included the vacant southwest side of the Española Plaza, and briefly, the current site of Anthony’s at the Delta, which is owned by District 3 Councilor Chayo Garcia. However, the site selection included all potentially viable sites throughout the city, Albin said.
A proposal to combine the library with Northern New Mexico College’s new library was axed earlier late last year.
Design plans on Española’s new library will be finalized by the end of February after two public comment meetings, Trujillo said. These will be held Jan. 21 and Feb. 3 at the current library on Paseo de Oñate. The library currently shares the Lucero Center building next to City Hall with the Española Recreation Center, an arrangement that Library Board member Daniel Roybal said was intended to be a temporary fix in 1972.
“We really need a new library,” he said. “The one we have now is just not enough to serve the community.”
The current location, at 5,000 square feet is too small, especially for children’s programs, and does not have either public restrooms or windows, Roybal said. The proposed new library would be three times as large, at 15,000 square feet and include a large children’s area along with the latest amenities and technology, according to the requirements for the project’s preliminary design plans.
Whether the project goes any further than preliminary design will depend on Española voters, who will decide whether or not to approve a $6 million bond issue in the March 2 municipal election.
The bond debt accumulated would be paid back with an increase in city property taxes that is currently estimated at between $2.90 and $3.10 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, Albin said. Those numbers would mean a property assessed at $50,000 would pay between $145 and $155 annually in additional taxes. This money would also be the city’s source of funds to purchase the Corley site if it is finally selected, Albin said.
Publicity and information about the bond election and the new library project is the responsibility of the Coalition, which includes the entire membership of the Friends of the Library, Library Director Teddie Riehl and any other interested volunteers from the general public. Questions for the Coalition can be sent to coalition.4.new.library@gmail.com, Trujillo said.