Fayetteville to Vote on Public Library Expansion

Photo Courtesy of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle
A rendering of the proposed plans for the Fayetteville Public Library expansion shows what the completed project would look like from the south. The buildings south of the main building will expand into where the old City Hospital building is, south of Rock Street. Fayetteville will vote on approving two property tax millage increases to fund the project Aug. 9.

Fayetteville voters will decide whether or not to increase property taxes to fund an expansion for the Fayetteville Public Library in a special election Tuesday, Aug. 9.

A referendum to increase the library’s millage of personal property taxes from 1 mill to 3.7 mills will be on the ballot in the form of two separate questions, both of which will need to pass in order for the library expansion to move forward. The first question asks for a for or against vote to raise the current 1 mill that supports the library’s maintenance and operation by 1.5. The second asks whether or not to impose a 1.2 mill on personal property to finance the construction for the expansion.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 used to calculate taxes on property. Millage rates are typically used in personal property taxes, where the expressed millage rate is multiplied by the total taxable value of the property to arrive at the property taxes due. One mill is equivalent to $1 in taxes per $1,000 taxable value.

It’s projected that the additional 2.7 mills would cost taxpayers an extra $54 per year for each assessed $100,000 of property owned, or $2.44 a week for the average Fayetteville homeowner.

The millage increase of 1.5 for the library’s operation costs will be permanent if passed, but once the construction bonds are paid off the additional 1.2 mill will end. How long that will take depends on property values, but library officials predict it could take as many as 20 years to pay off.

If passed, bidding and documentation would begin in 2017 and construction on the expansion could start in 2018. The new facility is predicted to be open by 2021.

A special election was voted for by the Fayetteville City Council in May for the library expansion, and election day is Tuesday, Aug. 9.

Early voting for the referendum began Tuesday, Aug. 2 at the County Clerk’s office in the Washington County Courthouse at 280 North College, Fayetteville, and will last through Monday, Aug. 8 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. To check your voter registration status, go to www.voterview.ar-nova.org or call the County Clerk’s office at 444-1711 prior to election day.

The results of the election will be posted online at www.co.washington.ar.us.

If the referendum passes, one of two expansion plans will take place. One idea is to expand south toward the closed City Hospital with 80,000 square feet — which is the preferred choice by the library’s administration and Board of Trustees — and the other is to expand on the library’s existing land.

However, there’s been a longstanding court dispute over the land the City Hospital sits on being sold to the library from Washington Regional Medical Center for $2 million from the heirs to the Stone family, who donated the land to the city a century ago. The decision for the sale depends on the Arkansas Supreme Court now, but a decision likely won’t happen until after the election.

Photo Courtesy of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle
This rendering of the proposed Fayetteville Public Library expansion shows a closer look at the driveway portion where Rock Street currently is.

If the court decides against the library’s favor, there are alternative plans for the library to move upward instead.

Both plans are predicted to cost about $49 million. The millage increase would cover $26.5 million of that, with the remaining $22.8 million covered by private donations. More information about the library’s budget and how the expansion will be funded is available at www.funding.faylib.org.

There hasn’t been a vote to increase the library millage since 1948.

The current facility was built in 2004 and was intended to accommodate the community for 20 years. Roughly 185 people an hour come through the door at the library, and the library can no longer accommodate the demand for services and community needs, said David Johnson, the library’s executive director.

There has been a 44 percent increase in circulation — with 43 percent of it consisting of children and teens — since the library opened in 2004, Johnson said. Additionally, the city’s population has increased to more than 80,000 people since 2004, when Fayetteville’s population was about 64,000. The library had more than 619,000 visitors in 2015, when in 2005 it had 530,000.

The proposed plans for the Fayetteville Public Library will roughly double the size of the facility, expanding to include more community space for multi-purpose activities. This follows the current trend of libraries moving from a place to read books and study to becoming a community resource for meeting space, renting materials and engaging in a variety of programming.

Plans for the new library include a new genealogy and local history research area, adding in “state-of-the-art” technology, doubling the size of the children’s library and increasing parking from 220 spaces to 435. In one of the renderings provided by Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle — the architecture firm responsible for the current library and the expansion plans — an outdoor plaza is planned for outdoor concerts and events.