Council to Study Library Expansion

Cost estimates to expand the downtown E.P. Foster Library onto a second floor range from $123,000 for the most basic upgrade to nearly $1.7 million for a wish list of improvements.

The figures, contained in a report to be submitted Monday to the City Council, follow weeks of study by city consultants and the Library Advisory Commission.

The council will not consider allocating money for the improvements until further planning is done and more solid cost estimates are developed.

Moreover, the city is unwilling to make any investment in the building until city staff members can negotiate transfer of the building’s ownership from the county to the city and county library employees vacate their second-floor offices.

Spending approvals also will require County Library Services employees to vacate their second floor administrative offices.

After months of study, the report gives top priority to $123,000 worth of improvements to bring the two-story, 39-year-old building into compliance with building codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other safety concerns.

Converting the building’s second floor from office space to a library would cost an estimated $585,000, according to the report.

The document also includes a list of 16 optional improvements, including creation of a new second-floor entrance, automated book checkout machines, new exterior paint, new stairways, lighting, ceilings, heating, air conditioning and bathroom renovation. The estimated total cost of those improvements is $1.08 million.