Sunday, May 4, 1997
Library town hall meeting set
By ANTHONY WILSON
Staff Writer
Before any final decisions are made about how to expand the
Abilene Public Library, the Citizens Library Review Panel wants
to hear from the public once more.
The panel will host its second town hall meeting at 7 p.m.
Monday at the Abilene Civic Center.
Its members will meet the following day to weigh whether the
library should move to the NationsBank Tower or to One City Center.
Next week, the panel is expected to vote on a recommendation to
the Abilene City Council.
"I'm personally shooting for May 13," panel chairman
Ed Patton said. "It depends on how many more questions the
panel has of the two proponents. But everyone is anxious for it
to be over."
After six months of study, the panel has narrowed its options
to two for a bigger library: revamping the tower's bottom three
levels or renovating One City Center.
Last week, the owners of One City Center offered to give the
city their building in an "as is" condition with the
contingency it be used for a library.
At the same time, tower owner Kenneth Musgrave offered a menu
of options for acquiring space in his 20-story building, claiming
the difference in renovation costs still makes his site a better
deal.
F&S Partners, a Dallas library design firm Musgrave hired,
calculated that renovating the 37-year-old center will cost $17.5
million - almost $7 million more than the panel's consultants
figured.
But questions are already surfacing about how F&S reached
its numbers.
For instance, F&S raised the cost $2.4 million, claiming
that's the difference between the values of the tower and the
center. It also included a $1.6 million expense to build a parking
garage.
Musgrave estimates that acquiring, expanding and renovating
space in the tower will cost $10.5 million, including the services
of F&S. Musgrave isn't, however, willing to guarantee the
cost and absorb losses if construction bids are higher than anticipated.
He is offering several lease options, but the panel seems to
prefer a purchase.
On Monday night, panel members will listen to what the citizens
have to say.
Patton said two people have reported they will champion other
options - building a new downtown library, and renovating the
current facility and adding more branches.
"We want input," Patton said. "The opinions
are all over the map. Some still prefer the (abandoned) Wal-Mart,
though we think the central library should be downtown. Some talk
of the elegance of the NationsBank Tower, which it certainly has.
And others want the city to own its building outright."
While the process has taken longer than anticipated, Patton
believes its openness has raised the odds of the public supporting
the panel's ultimate recommendation.
"When we started out, I thought a bond issue would have
zero chance," Patton conceded. "The openness of the
process has affected opinion such that I think a bond will have
a decent chance of passing. That's just a feeling."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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