Marion officials get first look at financial plans for new library

MARION - The Marion City Council on Thursday plans to discuss whether to sign off on the financial plans for a new library.

Council members saw the financial proposal for a new 40,000- to 45,000-square-foot library in the heart of the city for the first time at Tuesday's work session.

The library, which would be part of a $24 million mixed-use residential and retail building constructed by developer Ryan Cos., has an estimated cost of about $12.2 million. Lydia Brown, development director for Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., which has offices in Cedar Rapids, said the ideal location for the library would be where the Marion Square strip mall currently stands along Seventh Avenue. The mixed-use space would be constructed after the strip mall is torn down.

The financial proposal, presented by City Manager Lon Pluckhahn, would include plans for:

- The use of $5.04 million in local-option sales tax.

- A $2 million Marion Public Library Foundation fundraising campaign.

- An estimated $2.5 million the city could garner from the sale of its current library building, though there have yet to be any proposals.

- The city providing Ryan Cos. with $3 million in tax increment finance support for an underground parking facility for tenants of the building.

The library foundation would also apply for an estimated $10 million bond from the Iowa Finance Authority with which they would buy the library after Ryan Cos. builds the structure. The city could then use the $5.04 million in local-option sales tax to lease the building from the foundation, ultimately owning the building after about 10 years, Pluckhahn said.

Pluckhahn said the project plans are really up to the library foundation and Ryan Cos. because the foundation would own the building and be responsible for repaying the bond.

In order for Ryan Cos. to purchase the strip mall, the city council must approve the use of the local-option sales tax and vote to approve a lease of the library building.

Some Marion residents and council members wondered why the existing 24,000-square-foot library, built in 1996, cannot be expanded. Pluckhahn said it wouldn't be financially feasible. Even if the library was expanded the 6,000 square feet the structure would allow, the layout of the building would cost more in additional staffing. Pluckhahn added, the library would still be too small to accommodate the library's 900,000-item collection.

Although City Council member Mary Lou Pazour said she is now convinced a new library is feasible, she and council member Joe Spinks said their main concerns rest with the business owners who would be displaced with the loss of the strip mall.

'We owe it to the businesses to make the decision sooner rather than later,” Pluckhahn said.

Thursday's City Council meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. at Marion City Hall, 1225 Sixth Ave.

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