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Directors keep hands off library

Regional board will leave site issue to the city

While the City of Powell River is planning a referendum on siting for a new library, Powell River Regional District will close the book on the topic.

Board Chair Colin Palmer said, at the regional district’s May 22 board meeting, that the regional directors are on record, in writing, indicating they are not going to recommend a site. “It’s your decision,” he said to city directors Maggie Hathaway and Jim Palm, who both outlined the library referendum initiative at the meeting.

Hathaway said the city’s plan is to have public consultation, and out of that, it is hoped councillors will hear whether people prefer Willingdon South or Powell River Recreation Complex as the potential site. Hathaway suspects the referendum will have a dollar amount as well as a location.

Palmer asked Hathaway how library costing will be determined.

Hathaway replied that there are some estimates. “Once we pick the site I presume an architect would do the design and come up with a price.”

Palmer asked if a referendum could be completed for the November city election and Hathaway said that’s the plan.

Palm said, during a special council meeting earlier in the week, council locked into the process, looking at two sites, plus public consultation.

“The feedback received there will be brought back to the council table, discussed, and we don’t know if anything in terms of a referendum is written in stone,” he said. “That has yet to be decided.

“There were a couple of comments to the effect that in terms of funding, some people may like to see a cap on that funding, not the total amount, if it should go to referendum. For example, let’s just throw out a figure of $3 million. Then it will be up to the library board to come up with the remainder of the funding necessary to build the new library, through, hopefully, federal and provincial grants covering two thirds.”

Hathaway said the city would contribute money, maybe the regional district will provide some, and it will be up to the library board to fundraise the rest.

Area A Director Patrick Brabazon said the city has a public safety issue at the recreation complex regarding seismic activity and the minimum cost to allow people to walk out of that building in an earthquake is $8 million.

“If [Palm’s] number of $3 million was in any way half serious, you’re assuming that the [library’s] board of trustees would raise the money to renovate or rebuild a building to make it publicly safe?”

Palm said seismic upgrading is discretionary. “We could spend zero, or we could spend up to $20 million.”

Brabazon said public safety is always discretionary. “You don’t have to pave the roads, you don’t have to fund the fire department and you don’t have to do a lot of things in public safety.”

Brabazon said the building has a serious public safety problem, and even if the library is never built anywhere, the recreation complex has an $8-million price tag to make it so people can walk out of the central concourse in the midst of an earthquake. “The report said that right now, they’re toast.”

Palmer, who represents Electoral Area C, had a question for the city directors about who could participate in the consultation process.

“It’s your library, it’s your city, and your land,” he said. “Are you going to ask people outside of the city boundaries to provide opinions?”

Hathaway said the consultation will be a public meeting so she assumes people from the regional district area will attend and provide input.

She added, regarding the seismic upgrade issue, every public building in town, with the exception of Westview Elementary School and Brooks Secondary School, is not up to standard.