Victory not perfect for Renton library supporters
RENTON -Redevelopment ideas for Renton's iconic library on the Cedar River are not sitting well with some residents, who claim the two main features they worked so hard to keep last summer continue being ignored by King County Library officials.
"Nobody had any idea this was coming down the pipe," said Richard Bray, a Renton resident and member of the Save the Cedar River Library citizens group. "The single option proposal is so radically different from what residents expected."
Last August, more than 6,900 residents - 76 percent of Renton voters - voted to keep the downtown library at its current site over the river. Bray said that prior to, during and after last August's election supporters made it very clear to city and county officials they wanted to keep the entrance to the library over the water and they didn't want to see the library lose space - both of which, the group said, are included in KCLS's latest design proposal.
"We are asking the city council again to stand up and do what Renton residents have asked for," said Bray.
Next month, KCLS will hold a public meeting to showcase its conceptual ideas for the library, but Greg Smith, facilities director for KCLS, said until then residents shouldn't jump to any conclusions.
"We have not issued any plans other than some engineering difficulties with the project," Smith said. "We have shown some conceptual ideas but we have not issued any plans."
Smith said KCLS is working with the site they've been given, but rebuilding a structure that's basically a bridge over a river has some very serious environmental issues that need to be taken into account.
"We could not build that building today. We have to bring the building up to code seismically," he said. "We have to put some pilings on the ground to help support it and we have to stay out of the flood plain."
When asked if the current conceptual plans include losing square footage and the entrance over the river, Smith admits both are possible.
"With the way KCLS designs libraries, to have a door in the middle of the building defeats the purpose of the flow of traffic inside the space," he said. "The entrance may be off the parking lot side, but we are looking at all of that right now."
While the current library totals 20,000 square feet, Smith said a large chunk of the library is dedicated to staff operations. He said while the new layout may offer less square footage, the loss of public space would be minimal and would mostly come from space for the staff.
KCLS plans to mail flyers to residents regarding the public meeting within the next few days. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26 at 6:30p.m., inside the Cedar River Library.
Bray said until then, supporters for Save the Cedar River Library encourage residents to get involved by attending weekly city council meetings and expressing to councilmembers their desires for the future of the downtown library.
I'd like to ask Mr. Ptacek why jack-hammering the library to the deck and putting up a smaller one makes it better? His only definition of a "state of the art" library is a new library. Perhaps he's saying that the Library of Congress, the gold standard of libraries and the definition of what a library should be, is not "state of the art" because it's in a building more than 45 years old? It's a repository for knowledge, a resource for education, and the archive of our larger community, America. It has extensive digitized collections and is mufti-faceted in its services. It houses the copyright office. Oh, and it has a cafe ... But wait - its old! Shall we jack-hammer it down and replace it, Mr. Ptacek? There a lot of ways to skin the current cat. Furring the inside and using rigid insulation in walls and ceiling would make it extremely energy efficient and we wouldn't lose 6,400 square feet of program space for literacy, school resources, books and media or meeting rooms. I totally agree with Marcie Palmer, let's renovate, not remove!Â
Will the flyers that KCLS mails about the March 26th meeting have the same kind of misinformation that their campaign letter did? It was really disappointing to see the same tired design they presented then, only now a third smaller, trotted out at the Tuesday library meeting at City Hall two weeks ago. No other options were presented - where has public input gone - is anyone even listening? Seems like it was all a one-way exercise. Watching the council meeting last Monday, seeing the way the Mayor and his 4 council members responded to the people who spoke, it was obvious that nothing has changed. They're diametrically opposed to what residents want and would rather support a special interest group like KCLS, than listen to and serve their constituents. When did the people footing the bill and paying their salaries become second fiddles to KCLS?Â
Renton residents better get into this while they have the chance. Even though KCLS has a hand in the design, Renton residents need to remember that the building does not belong to KCLS. It belongs to the City of Renton. Renton taxpayer money will pay for this project, as well as the Highlands library, and will pay to maintain them. Maybe Renton should rebuild a smaller library, right next to the tennis court. It could be made of brick, with round globe lights on each side of the entrance, which, for those who remember, was on the parking lot side of the building.
""We could not build that building today. We have to bring the building up to code seismically," he said. "We have to put some pilings on the ground to help support it and we have to stay out of the flood plain.""
More proof that the ever-expanding bureaucracy will swallow WA whole.Â