{"id":20353,"date":"2013-09-13T11:16:41","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T15:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=20353"},"modified":"2013-09-13T11:22:31","modified_gmt":"2013-09-13T15:22:31","slug":"county-library-construction-getting-back-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2013\/09\/13\/county-library-construction-getting-back-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"County Library Construction Getting Back on Track"},"content":{"rendered":"

After putting libraries on hold during the recession, Wake County is getting back to its plans to build new libraries and renovate existing buildings. <\/p>\n

During a work session Monday, County Commissioners reviewed plans for the library system. This year’s general budget includes money for adding five staff members and restoring library hours<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The county\u2019s five-year Capital Improvement Program also includes $44.7 million for construction and renovations. <\/p>\n

In order to figure out if the county\u2019s priorities are still the same, county staff recently reviewed how things have changed since the last library bond was passed. <\/p>\n

Library bonds were approved in 2003 and 2007. Only one project \u2014 the Northeast Regional Library in Wakefield \u2014 remains from the 2003 bond. Construction of that project<\/a>, previously estimated at $9.5 million, is scheduled to begin in 2014. <\/p>\n

\"NE<\/a>

A rendering of the Northeast Library. Image provided by Wake County.<\/p><\/div>\n

Only a few of the renovations slated for the 2007 bond have been completed and none of the new building construction has occurred. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nLibrary Projects Listed in the Capital Improvement Plan<\/center><\/strong>
\n\u2022 Northeast Regional (will begin this fiscal year)
\n\u2022 Fuquay-Varina Expansion\/Relocation
\n\u2022 Wake Forest Expansion
\n\u2022 Middle Creek
\n\u2022 Cary Expansion\/Relocation
\n\u2022 Morrisville
\n\u2022 North Hills\n<\/div>\n

Community Services Director Frank Cope said those projects are still the projects the county should be working on next. <\/p>\n

Prioritizing Libraries <\/strong>
\nBecause there are no national guidelines to help municipalities locate new libraries, staff had to come up with its own metric based on market usage and population growth, with emphasis on projects from the 2007 bond. <\/p>\n

Staff also considered drive time. While all Wake County residents have access to one of 20 libraries, some locations are more convenient than others. <\/p>\n

Using data collected from library goers, staff found that most residents have a library within about 10 minutes from their homes. All residents have a library within a 16-minute drive. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody loves a library,\u201d said Commission Chair Joe Bryan. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a library you want a library.\u201d <\/p>\n

But, with limited funds, Bryan said the county needs to prioritize its projects. <\/p>\n

One town that wants a library is Rolesville, the only town in the county without its own. <\/p>\n

Much like the rest of county, Rolesville\u2019s population has grown, a sign town leaders warrants a new branch. <\/p>\n

Despite a population uptick in the northwestern Wake town, Cope said Rolesville doesn’t meet any of the criteria standards. But, if Rolesville had the same population in 2006 as it does now, Cope said that it\u2019s likely a project would have been included in the bond package. <\/p>\n

Commissioners also discussed the Express Library on Fayetteville Street, also known as ELF. <\/p>\n

The small library, located in the county building next to the courthouse, caters to residents who work downtown. The branch is only open during regular business hours. The library offers a limited selection of books and no programming. <\/p>\n

Considering its size, Cope said the library has similar usage to that of Wendell\u2019s library. <\/p>\n

The express library wasn\u2019t included in staff\u2019s evaluation because it is considered a specialty library. <\/p>\n

Bryan said that while some areas, such as Rolesville, are lacking libraries, downtown Raleigh residents and workers have access to multiple libraries within the 10-minute drive, including the Cameron Village Regional Library. <\/p>\n

Similar libraries don\u2019t exist in any other job-generating area, like Research Triangle Park. <\/p>\n

Bryan said he doesn\u2019t see the Commission making any changes, but wanted to acknowledge that the express library is an additional service that does come with a cost. <\/p>\n

The library, he said, is part of the fabric of downtown and harkens back to the time where there was only one central library located in a city\u2019s business district. <\/p>\n

Commissions made no decisions about the priority list. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After review by the County Commission this week, no changes have been made to the county\u2019s list of upcoming projects. Some projects will now move forward now that Commissioners say the worst of the recession is over and revenue is getting back on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24029,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,15],"tags":[236,1409],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24029"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}