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SITING A BRANCH LIBRARY IN SAND POINT // COMMUNITY MEETING RECAP

7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2006
Wedgwood Presbyterian Church

Between 20 and 25 people attended this meeting to discuss possible locations for a new branch library in Sand Point. City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs opened the meeting with introductions of The Seattle Public Library board of trustees -- branch steward Eric Liu, Linda Larson, Gilbert W. Anderson (board president), and Michael Parham -- as well as Library staff members David Kunselman, Library senior capital projects manager; Claudia McCain, Library public services assistant director; Val Frye, Library branch transitions manager; Megan Taylor, Library borrower services manager; Francesca Wainwright, Greenwood and North East Branch Library Manager; Stacy Carter, Library capital program office coordinator; and Charlie Heffernan from the city of Seattle Fleets and Facilities Department. Also present were Citizen Implementation Review Panel (CIRP) members Suzanne Kotz, Stephen Lundgren, Monica Moravec, Dennis Ross and Emily Wheeler.

Jacobs gave a brief history of the Libraries for All (LFA) bond campaign and the $6 million Opportunity Fund, from which $1.4 million in funding was allocated for a Sand Point Branch in October 2000. The Opportunity Fund allocation process began in 2000 with an extensive community process that began with community groups submitting proposals for suggested uses. A group called Citizens for a Library at Sand Point applied for Opportunity Funds with a proposal to build a 5,000-square-foot branch in Sand Point, suggesting Magnuson Park as a possible location. The Citizen Implementation Review Panel, a Libraries for All oversight committee created by city ordinance, along with Library staff members, reviewed proposals, conducted interviews and made allocation recommendations to the Library Board. After board approval, the allocation recommendations were approved by the City Council. The Library indicated its intention to begin the project after LFA projects detailed in the bond measure’s capital plan were under way or completed.

Because several of the possible sites the Library has been asked to explore are located in Magnuson Park, Jacobs briefly discussed some of the history of Magnuson Park, including former Mayor Charles Royer’s blue ribbon advisory committee on possible Magnuson Park uses, and briefly touched on Initiative 42 implications. Adopted by the City Council in 1997, Initiative 42 restricts the conversion of park land to another use unless it can be replaced in kind.

Jacobs stated there would be ample opportunity for public comment throughout the siting process, with comment forms available on the Library’s Web site at http://www.spl.org/lfa/neighborhoodlibs/sandpoint/sandpointcommentform.html as well as in the nearest neighborhood library, the North East Branch.

Next, trustee and Sand Point Branch steward Eric Liu discussed what factors make a good library site. Liu stated the Library Board makes all siting decisions and said there would be much opportunity for public comment both in the ways already mentioned as well as in person at the regular monthly board meetings (schedule available at http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=about_leaders_board_schedule). Liu discussed the challenges in the bidding climate and the upturn in construction and commodity costs over the last couple of years and their effect on the Library’s building program. He said the board had concerns the $1.4 million allocated for the branch in 2000 would not be sufficient to build a 5,000-square-foot branch, but added the money allocated was being held in reserve and protected. Part of the process is to determine the best site and identify realistic costs to co-locate or improve an existing building. Liu said the Library rarely built branches smaller than 5,000 square feet because the operating costs were relatively the same, so the result was less library for the money overall. Liu also discussed the board’s policy of generally not building multi-story branches due to the additional operating costs needed for staffing, as well as the additional building costs of elevators, which reduced space available for library services. Additionally, two-story branches are more difficult to manage due to security concerns and proximity of work areas to public areas.

Senior Capital Projects Manager David Kunselman talked about the meeting format and said staff would break into informal stations for each of the current eight proposed sites. He invited attendees to visit each station to comment on each site. Staff at a ninth station would record any new site recommendations. Kunselman briefly described each of the eight sites the Library had been asked to investigate and talked about how the Library arrived at the current list. Kunselman touched on general opportunities and challenges of each site based on preliminary work.

At this time, Jacobs and board members took questions from attendees, which resulted in the following:

Next, the Library requested community feedback on each of the eight sites previously identified by community members or capital program staff as site possibilities. That discussion yielded the following:

COMMENTS ON EACH SITE

SITE A: Magnuson Park – Building 30

OPPORTUNITIES The best site; start on 1st level and could expand to lower level; structurally in good shape Magnuson Park is the best siting option as long as parking is available

CONSTRAINTS Not the best site because there isn’t a lot of easy walking proximity to other attractions, and you’ll have to fight competing park uses for parking, etc. Other sites that are solely dedicated to library are better Proximity to other park buildings somewhat limited Park buildings not in good shape; will incur unexpected costs to develop Prefer sites outside the park Sites F&G would have more support

SITE B: Magnuson Park – Building 138 Gatehouse

OPPORTUNITIES None stated

CONSTRAINTS Doesn’t make sense: multi level, chopped up space; only 6-7 parking spaces; bike organization already has long-term lease; too small

SITE C: Magnuson Park – Building 18 (former fire station)

OPPORTUNITIES Good visibility Parking nearby Good distance from existing North East Branch Open; good parking & visibility Easy ADA access Could you partner with Friends of the Library space? Could develop with fire station theme

CONSTRAINTS Concern there may be issues with I-42

SITE D: Magnuson Park – Building 41 (former gas station)

OPPORTUNITIES Good neighborhood walking, biking destination Possibly cheaper to build if parking was shared with church

CONSTRAINTS Charming current structure; what is the best use for this overall? Would be a shame to demolish. Would be a good site for a coffee house/book club Concern over I-42 issues Not as visible as other sites on the list Avoid all park sites; too many competing uses, traffic and not really part of neighborhood or community Doesn’t seem like it would be reasonable or beneficial to gut this and start over; where located in park, should really be designed to go with existing uses F&G are better sites than C or D, and B is out of the question. Some appreciation for why someone may choose option A; proximity to existing residential areas preferred Parks department sites are not good

SITE E: Magnuson Park – Building 9 (UW property)

OPPORTUNITIES Variable; how many square feet are available? Good visibility Is there a cost difference in siting on park property? Patio on east side of building is a great site for a coffee shop

CONSTRAINTS Prefer commissary site to site E Too close to other libraries? Cost of renovation would be huge: lead paint remediation, seismic retrofit, asbestos abatement & ADA issues

SITE F: 5755 NE 63rd St. (former City Light substation)

OPPORTUNITIES Would love to have it here; lots of multi family residential Good local neighborhood walking access better than park sites Like the fact that this site doesn’t have park issues Like the fact that this site has 8,000 SF Could parking for community college be used for this option? 2nd choice site after commissary part of neighborhood fabric; park sites are not

CONSTRAINTS access; congestion of adjacent streets and limited access to Sand Point Way NE

SITE G: 6208 60th Ave NE (Sand Point Education Center)

OPPORTUNITIES What would happen to the community college? Could there be shared use on the site? The community college is a valuable asset as is Good local neighborhood walking access to site Much prefer this site over park sites Fantastic—partner with current occupant New student housing nearby – Bradford Court

CONSTRAINTS Left turn into Museum of History and Industry is tricky during peak times Not terribly central; sort of hidden site Somewhat cut off from schools, rest of community & buses Feels unsafe at night Possible conflicts with potential Arboretum use of site Traffic modifications would be necessary

SITE H: Neighborhood Business District

OPPORTUNITIES Triangle Building near Washington Mutual and C.P. Mercantile

CONSTRAINTS none stated

The Library solicited ideas & suggestions from the community regarding other sites that warranted investigation. That discussion yielded the following site possibilities:

• Site at hangar 27 & co-locate with senior services center or other use; good city transportation, community gathering place/station for water taxi (dock here) expands recreational opportunities; neighborhood destination/coffee shop; people could walk or ride to it
• Commissary site (even if current building is demolished); good access.
  Commissary would be a great site; close to UW, student housing and subsidized housing; possibly use grant funding to supplement existing budget
• Magnuson Park green space; exchange within I-42 guidelines

NON SITE SPECIFIC COMMENTS MADE DURING BREAKOUT STATION SESSION

• Why do we need a branch here? Area is well-served by other North End branches
• Definitely need a library at Sand Point! North East Branch is over capacity, especially parking impact on surrounding neighborhood
• Should we have a library in Sand Point? Isn’t North East Branch serving this area?

NEXT STEPS

• Siting comment cards are available at the North East Branch and online at http://www.spl.org/lfa/neighborhoodlibs/sandpoint/sandpointcommentform.html or by calling the Capital Program Office at 386-4624.
• The Library will post a summary of the meeting for those unable to attend at www.spl.org.

The meeting ended at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Content Modified:Content Modified:25 April 2006

09/14/2007

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