Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: February 23, 2010 7:00 PM
Greater Vernon’s long wait for a new library could soon be over. Okanagan Regional Library has revealed plans for a 30,000-square-foot branch at 2808 30th Avenue, across from Tolko’s head office. Construction could begin in March 2012, with it open some time in 2013. “I’m thrilled for the people of the area. They will finally get a library they deserve,” said Maureen Curry, Vernon’s head librarian. “We don’t have the space to provide a satisfactory service. We need space for people to come and enjoy the library — study space and children’s programs.” However, the two-storey project can’t proceed until approval for borrowing up to $11 million has been granted by the public. The funds will be borrowed through the North Okanagan Regional District and an alternate approval process will be used to garner public assent. If 10 per cent of North Okanagan voters sign a petition in opposition, borrowing can’t occur. “A full referendum would be more costly,” said Herman Halvorson, NORD chairman, of why that option for public approval wasn’t considered.
NORD will borrow the funds through the Municipal Finance Authority because of competitive interest rates (ORL cannot apply to MFA directly). But the library board will repay the principal and pay the interest, fees and financing, and cost-sharing will be done by the entire ORL district, which goes from Golden to Osoyoos and Princeton. ORL has already put aside some money for the project and it’s anticipated the additional annual capital and operating costs will be 50 cents to $1 per year for the average residence in the entire ORL service region. If the alternate approval process fails, ORL director Shawn Lee says other financing methods will be sought. “The decision has been made to build the branch,” he said.
The 30th Avenue property has been purchased from the City of Vernon for $10. “Keeping the library downtown has been very important to council,” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. The land — which is currently valued at $850,000 — was purchased by the city in the 1980s for a road intersection but the project never occurred. The present library branch is 13,000-square-feet in size, and 850 to 1,000 people use it daily. An average of 237 new cards are issued every month, and the public Internet stations are in high demand. “Vernon and the greater area have been under-serviced for many years,” said Ted Bacigalupo, ORL chairman. “The new branch will enhance all of their services.” Previous attempts at a new library have failed and the issue has dominated ORL’s agenda. “Many of us have struggled for 10 years to get to this stage in the process,” said Bacigalupo. Expanding the current branch was abandoned because a second floor couldn’t be added economically. And its owner, the city, has suggested the building could be used for its own workforce. Patrick Nicol, a Vernon councillor, believes there will be public support for the new library. “It’s long overdue. It (library) is a vibrant part of the community,” he said. Coldstream residents are also being urged to get behind the initiative.“This library is here to serve them and the outlying areas and that explains its size,” said Mayor Jim Garlick.
-----------
Library plan turns the page Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star
Desperate for a new branch, Okanagan Regional Library has broken with the past, and it’s a strategy that may pay off. Instead of tying itself to the City of Vernon again, it has found a new partner in the North Okanagan Regional District, and that makes sense after the fiasco of 2007/08. At that time, ORL had hoped for a 30,000-square-foot library on the ground floor of a civic complex that would have also contained city offices and an art gallery. But attempts to slide it through hit some turbulence when 10 per cent of Vernon’s voters inked a petition opposing borrowing up to $30 million. And the final nail in the coffin came when a majority of voters shot borrowing down during a referendum.
Had ORL’s latest plan involved the city for borrowing purposes, it’s likely the same taxpayer hostility — particularly among those self-appointed watchdogs — would have surfaced again. But with NORD, there is a clean state, and the chances of getting 10 per cent of the region’s voters to ink a petition against borrowing up to $11 million is slim to nil. First off, it’s a significantly larger population base to try and rally and secondly, a library in Vernon isn’t on the radar for people living in Cherryville, Grindrod or Armstrong. The other difference this time around is that local taxpayers aren’t directly having to empty their wallets. NORD is only being used as a conduit to access favourable lending rates, but it’s ORL that will cover the principal, the interest, fees and financing. As a federation of 24 municipalities and regional districts, ORL will tap into the collective financial resources of residents from Golden to Princeton, and not specifically just those from the North Okanagan. If ORL’s projections are correct and the additional annual capital and operating costs are 50 cents to $1 for the average residence valley-wide, people aren’t going to get fired up over something that costs less than a cup of coffee. What also helps with the bottom line is the City of Vernon donating a $850,000 chunk of land for $10.
After years of debate, it appears Vernon, Coldstream and BX residents are on the verge of getting the library they deserve, but it’s been painful watching ORL put together a financial package it can sell to the public. On a related note, representatives from the Greater Vernon Museum were at the back of the room during the ORL press conference Monday. They, of course, would also like expanded space, and hearing the plans for a larger library must have been like the poor kid watching their rich friend open gift after expensive gift. But unlike ORL, the museum and the Vernon Public Art Gallery — which is also facing similar space constraints — have not had the City of Vernon and NORD falling all over them. There are no offers of cheap land or borrowing millions of dollars. When the future of Greater Vernon’s cultural amenities is raised, there’s a lot of feel-good platitudes from the politicians about how important they are. But substance is lacking. And there’s no better example of that than a recent meeting in which Vernon council members told the art gallery board it would have to convince taxpayers that a capital investment is needed before plans for a new gallery would proceed. Without the full support of the politicians and the bureaucrats, any lobbying will die a quick death, and council is counting on it. It was quite clear Monday which cultural organization local officials support, while the poor cousins are left sitting on the sidelines.
No comments:
Post a Comment