REPLAY LIVE COVERAGE: Library board chooses new site, 4 p.m.

The public library board will pick from among four options this afternoon, sending a clear signal about the future location of a downtown public library.

The board took a hard look last week at the four options after Mayor-elect Ron Corbett told members in mid-December to quickly come up with a top choice and an alternate. Each option will cost about $45 million, and each constitutes an entire city block. You can read a liveblog of that meeting here.

The City Council will make the final decision, but the library board's recommendation this afternoon will give us a clear idea of what to expect.

TrueNorth and Banjo have the drawbacks of a complicated parking situation, and being in the zone that was flooded in 2008. New libraries at either site would be built above the 2008 flood level, but somehow people seem to still get nervous about those locaitons.

The Emerald Knights site has the drawback of being generally considered to be outside of the downtown. But it has a lot in its favor. It's nowhere close to the 2008 flood level, the property on that block could easily move and doesn't represent a huge loss to the tax base, and it's in a high-traffic area, kind of at a gateway to Cedar Rapids, just off I-380.

The Gazette site, a latecomer to the party, appeals to the library board because it's got a good parking ramp, is downtown and would have "synergy" with the art museum and Greene Square Park. But even though there's lots of extra space in the buildings, KCRG and The Gazette are active businesses whose relocation would be a substantive project.

I'll start liveblogging this afternoon's meeting at about 3:45. Please drop in and leave a comment.