FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council agreed Tuesday to take up next week the Fayetteville Public Library's request to hold a special millage election asking taxpayers to help pay for improvement.
Library supporters turned in petitions with about 500 signatures in earlier this month calling for an election on increasing the library's 1-mill property tax temporarily to 3.7 mills. The rate would eventually drop to 2.5 mills under the plan.
If approved by the council, the vote would come in a special election Aug. 9. The council will take up the issue at the May 17 meeting.
A special election would cost about $25,000. Library board members said a donor has stepped forward pledging to pay that cost.
"The special election will cost the city zero dollars," said Maylon Rice, treasurer of the library board. "There is some urgency because we have one of the best libraries in the country and we want to keep it that way."
Library leaders have said the change would allow the facility to expand library space and boost services to keep up with demand. Plans include a new youth and genealogy wing and public event space.
The 2.7-mill increase would cost property owners an additional $54 a year for every $100,000 worth of property, raising millions of dollars annually to pay off construction bonds and cover more operations.
The board has cut $400,000 from it's budget in the last two years, Rice said.
Architect Jeffrey Scherer, who designed the library, is leading the expansion planning process.
Supporters hope the library will be able to expand onto the neighboring City Hospital land, a deal that's been tied up in court. A six-judge panel of the Arkansas Court of Appeals recently affirmed an earlier Court of Appeals ruling allowing the library to purchase the land from Washington Regional Medical Center for $2 million.
Jane Stone, a descendant who has spoken for the group contesting the sale, has said she intends to take the case as far as possible on appeal.
If the land purchase goes through and the millage increase passes, the library would be able to add some 60,000 square feet, according to Scherer. A new wing would extend south from the library's southwest corner, descending like stair steps along the existing slope.
The plan is tentative and public meetings in July should add more detail and offer the first official renderings. The full design would come after the August election. Scherer also has a smaller plan in case the land deal falls through.
Construction could happen from 2018 to 2020, along with renovation and other improvements.
NW News on 05/11/2016