City council hasn’t reached consensus on new library location

A final decision on the site of a new library is the City Council's, and the lack of consensus among council members suggests their debate next month should be captivating.

For now, Mayor Ron Corbett said, he favors the Emerald Knights site over the Gazette Communications block, the two sites recommended Thursday by the library board.

The Emerald Knights site is between First and Second avenues SE and Seventh and Eighth streets SE, and the Gazette Communications block is between Second and Third avenues SE and Fifth and Sixth streets SE. The latter site contains The Gazette and KCRG-TV9 buildings and a parking ramp.

Corbett said his support could shift, however, because it is based solely on cost - the cost to acquire and the subsequent loss of tax revenue. That factor favors the Emerald Knights site, he said. He noted that the Gazette Communications block brings in about $116,000 a year in property taxes and the Emerald Knights site, about $45,000 a year.

Council member Don Karr, the most certain of council members polled Friday, said he liked the Emerald Knights site, especially because of cost, and council member Chuck Wieneke said he “tends” to lean in the direction of the Emerald Knights site.

Two other council members, Justin Shields and Chuck Swore, weren't sure what they favor and need to know more. Shields, though, said he earlier had thought the library needed to be located in the downtown.

Most passionate on the subject was council member Pat Shey, who said he still has his “heart set” on a third site, TrueNorth, which the library board considered but did not recommend.

Council member Tom Podzimek said he hopes the City Council doesn't make a decision on the $45 million library in a vacuum, pointing out that the council also may have to decide where to put a new Central Fire Station and a new Intermodal Transit Facility.

He noted that one of the “guiding principles” in finding a new home for the Central Fire Station is that it have quick access to Interstate 380 and other major city streets. The Emerald Knights site, Podzimek said, fits that bill well.

“The City Council has to take the broader view,” Podzimek said. “I don't think it's the library board's responsibility of putting all the pieces together. They're responsible for one piece.”

Similarly, Shey pointed to the city's plan to possibly build an Intermodal Transit Facility on land now owned by PepsiAmericas. The property is adjacent to the TrueNorth site, which sits across Fourth Avenue SE from Greene Square Park.

The library board has talked a great deal about parking for the library, and Shey said he believes the library and the transit facility could share parking if built in proximity to one another.

Council member Kris Gulick said a particular piece of geography is just the start for him. He said he needs to look at costs before he decides.

Council member Monica Vernon could not be reached.

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