The Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation will hold a public meeting to discuss how to site the new Northgate library and community center from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, May 8, at the Olympic View Elementary, 504 N.E. 95th St., auditorium/cafeteria.
The joint meeting will provide an opportunity for the community to talk about the opportunities and constraints of the two agencies sharing a building, sharing a site, siting the buildings close to one another or siting them separately.
The Northgate Library
Northgate, one of Seattle's fastest-growing communities, will receive a new 10,000-square-foot library under the "Libraries for All" building program that voters approved in November 1998.
The new branch will have a capacity for more than 30,000 books, seating for up to 100 patrons, reading and homework areas for children and youth, adult reference and study areas, computer work stations, instructional spaces and a multipurpose meeting room for community use. The $5.1 million branch is scheduled to open in 2004.
The Northgate Community Center
In November, Seattle voters renewed Seattle Proposition One, the community centers levy, which included $8.2 million to build a 20,000-square-foot full service community center in Northgate. Presently, the growing community does not have a facility to serve as the hub for the neighborhood. A new community center could be that hub by offering activities such as teen camps, basketball leagues, classes, after-school programs, community meetings, weddings and seniors programs. The Northgate community center, like the new library, also is scheduled to open in 2004.
Some community members have suggested that the library and community center be "co-located." Others support constructing the buildings in different parts of the community to act as a catalyst for development in the neighborhood.
During the meeting, representatives from the Library and the Parks Department will outline the issues important to siting a library and community center, answer questions, and talk about the next steps. Attending from the Library will be Alexandra Harris, capital program director; David Kunselman, capital projects manager for the Northgate Library; and Greg Maffei, a member of the Seattle Public Library board of trustees. Attending from the Parks Department will be Margaret Anthony, Parks and Recreation north division director; Al Clawson, Northgate Community Center project manager; and Kate Kaehny, neighborhood assistance planner.
The Library Board is currently considering six potential sites for the new Northgate library. They are:
The Parks Department has moved up its planning schedule for the Northgate community center in order to assess the advantages and disadvantages of co-locating the center with the new library. Planning for the center was originally scheduled to begin in 2002.
For more information, call or e-mail the Library's capital program office at (206) 386-4624, capital.program@spl.org, or the Parks Department public information specialist at (206) 233-7929, tammy.reed@ci.seattle.wa.us.
The Library Board also will hear public comments and make siting recommendations at its 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23 meeting, at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Lee Auditorium.
(For more information, call Caroline Ullmann, assistant communications officer at the library, (206) 615-1627, or Tammy Reed, Parks Department public information specialist, at (206) 233-7929.)
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Content modified: 20 April 2000
12/30/2005
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