Library Debate, I Couldn't Put it Down

So the novella that was the City Council debate over where to build a new public library turned out the be a real page-turner.

In the end (spoiler alert) those Dreaming Beacons, who love the True North site, won out over the Cautious Hilltoppers, who favored the Emerald Knights block.  But getting there was all the fun.

It had all the elements. A packed house. A "landmark" decision.

There were even revealing personal testimonials.

For example, I had no idea, until Wednesday, that Council member Monica Vernon was asked out on her first date at the old Carnegie library.

"I believe that libraries are the great equalizers...places of hopes and dreams," she said. And romance, evidently. Vernon said the new library could be a "beacon" at TrueNorth.

Chuck "The Colonel" Wieneke, revealed that as a young farm boy from "four miles west of town," he won "figurines" for his reading prowess at the old library. He favored Emerald Knights, because of its lower cost and uphill distance from the flood zone.

Tom Podzimek said he started as a youngster at the library with "Curious George" and worked his way up to Frederick Nietzsche. Still,  Podzimek said he prefers that rascal of a monkey to existential German philosophy. Who doesn't? Podzimek backed TrueNorth.

There was love lost.

"I've never had a passion for parking," said Council member and TrueNorth supporter Pat Shey. In a plot twist, the parking-parking-parking! debate that captivated the library board throughout its deliberations had almost no bearing on the Council's final decision. Surprise.

There was bravery. "I'm not fearful of that river," said Council member Justin Shields, who also backed TrueNorth, arguing that the city couldn't ask people to take a risk and help redevelop downtown if it wasn't also willing to build its library closer to the city's core, flood risk be damned.

There was drama, and plenty of it.

With TrueNorth leading 4-3 in the ninth, Kris Gulick stepped up to the plate. He's a journeyman CPA, who traveled to see libraries in Des Moines and Naperville as he prepared to take his fateful vote.

Gulick ticked off a list of criteria, arguing that the city was really making a $150 million investment over the next 50 years. For a moment, it looked like he might put TrueNorth over the top. But then, he turned on a dime and voted Emerald Knight.

All tied up 4-4-1, with Chuck Swore the lone swing vote in favor of The Gazette site. Would he fight or switch?

Mayor Ron Corbett asked for everyone to give their second choice. And The Gazette block - the library board favorite - appeared to rally in the consolation round. For a fleeting moment, I thought I might still have to pack up my stuff and move.

But then, in giving his second choice, Swore argued that the Emerald Knights block could be more valuable as a commercial property anchoring the city's new medical district. Gasp. Moments later, he was motioning for a vote on TrueNorth. Game over.

7-2. TrueNorth wins the pennant.

In the end, a guy who actually wanted the library to stay at its previous, flooded location with flood-fighting modifications, ends up casting the deciding vote for a new facility at TrueNorth, the "truly special" site loved by the Beacon Dreamers. An unlikely ending.

So tell us what we won.

We get a new library on the edge of Greene Square Park, directly across from the Museum of Art. There's a parking garage next door on one side and a potential bus facility being considered nearby. The site is just inside the flood zone, but it's out of the revised 500 year flood plain and the library will be elevated, just in case.

It's downtown, it's walkable and I'll be able to watch the construction from my office window, God and economy willing.

Not a bad night's work for this fast-moving, daredevil council. Check one more decision off the list, although we've got a long way to go before any one digs in with shiny ceremonial shovels.

Details, details have yet to be worked out.