Officials present reasons for moving public library to SCC

By Lynn Hotaling

Local residents who attended last Thursday's (May 22) public hearing at Southwestern Community College heard more than opinions expressed by community residents.

Prior to taking public comment, representatives of SCC and Fontana Regional Library, along with Jackson County Commissioners' Chairman Stacy Buchanan, spent some 90 minutes explaining the concept of a shared library facility for Jackson County and SCC and chronicling the history behind it.

Gail Findlay, director of Fontana Regional Library, which administers the Jackson County Public Library, told of the local library's need for more space and updated facilities. A task force made up of four Fontana staff members and three SCC staff members recommended the county and community college collaborate and construct a facility large enough to house both libraries, she said.

Jackson County's current library offers 6,400 square feet, Findlay said. Recommendations made four years ago placed the needed space at 18,500 square feet, she said, and 20,000 square feet is now needed to adequately serve the county. Joining forces with SCC could satisfy that space requirement, she said.

An earlier task force that included community representatives had identified six potential downtown sites - a lot next to Lifeway Church owned by Herald Publisher Jim Gray, the Grindstaff site near Jackson Plaza, a site near Mark Watson Park, the former Western Sizzlin' site in Jackson Plaza, the hill above the Sylva Fire Department and the old courthouse - but none proved feasible.

SCC President Cecil Groves made a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrated where the library would be constructed and how it would fit into other SCC expansion plans. He emphasized the expansion of resources that would be possible through a shared library.

Jackson County librarian Michael Cartwright summarized the task force's qualifications (a combined 114 years of professional library experience) and endorsed the group's recommendation to construct a shared facility.

When asked Tuesday about the length of the public hearing's initial presentations, Buchanan said it was an "informational meeting˛ and that he, Groves, Findlay and Cartwright needed to take that time to explain the proposal.

While much of the information presented May 22 was shared during an April 10 meeting between county leaders and SCC officials (see The Sylva Herald, April 17, 2003), last week's session also included Buchanan's responses to concerns expressed by the community.

With regard to the different missions of community and college libraries, Buchanan said the libraries' mission and goals could be compatible because the operating procedures for a shared facility would be formulated locally.

Buchanan responded to community members' concerns about access to a public library on the SCC campus by saying that the proposed new library would be closer to both the county's geographic and population center, closer to the county's new recreation complex (in Cullowhee), and almost adjacent to planned social services and senior adult facilities to be built across N.C. 116 from SCC.

Turning to the argument that moving the library from downtown would make it less convenient to combine shopping and library visits, Buchanan said the proposed location is much closer to Ingles and Wal-Mart.

"Look at the receipts and see where most people shop. Go to the State Employees Credit Union on a payday Friday and see where most people bank,˛ Buchanan said.

In response to the objection that children couldn't walk to the library if it were at SCC rather than downtown, Buchanan said only 21 children attend Southwestern Child Development Commission's day care center in Sylva while some 150 children (Webster, Webster Enterprises and SCC centers) are close to the proposed library site. And some 1,600 public school students at Fairview and Smoky Mountain High are less than a half mile from SCC, he said, with the county's third-largest school, Cullowhee Valley, only a few miles south.

Plans for the joint-use facility were not made in secret, Buchanan said, adding that SCC officials contacted him about the idea in 1998 before he was even sworn in for his first term as a commissioner. He also said he presented "talking points˛ during his first meeting as a commissioner that included the idea of a new library.

(A report in the Dec. 7, 1998, edition of The Sylva Herald outlined Buchanan's long-range plan, which included a proposed allocation of $250,000 during fiscal year 1999 to develop a shared-use library agreement with SCC and "combine resources to maximize opportunities.˛ Buchanan's 1998 plan included leasing the current library facility.)

With regard to a statement that a shared facility won't save money, Buchanan said building two separate libraries could cost taxpayers $9 million, but a joint-use facility could yield the same space at a cost of around $4.5 million. He pointed out that Jackson County is already obligated to provide $4 million to SCC as a match to the institution's $6 million state bond money. That money could be applied to a library or to other capital projects, he said.

Savings on annual costs could be as much as $780,000 with a shared facility when both debt service ($900,000 annually for separate libraries as opposed to $400,000 annually for a shared facility) and operating costs are factored in, Buchanan said.

As to the negative impact downtown if the library is moved, Buchanan said, "I ask that you view the glass as half-full rather than half-empty.˛ The current library is a "prime location˛ and presents an opportunity for a restaurant or retail space, which could increase the tax base, he said.

Though Buchanan stated that in his opinion the county should move forward with a shared-use library facility, he also said he wasn't opposed to keeping a downtown library.

"I'm not interested in pulling out of downtown,˛ Buchanan said. "I'm asking that you redirect your energies in an effort to keep a branch downtown.˛

Buchanan pledged that commissioners "would match the town of Sylva dollar for dollar˛ in that effort, and mentioned the former Jackson County Chamber of Commerce location on Grindstaff Cove Road as a potential location for a branch library.

"Change is difficult, growth inevitable and cooperation is a must,˛ Buchanan said.

Back to Archive: 05/29/03.