Fort Collins libraries will expand outreach

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The Fort Collins Library staff is wasting no time restoring services to the community, now that voters approved the tax-supported Fort Collins Regional Library District.

Just a day after the Nov. 7 election, library director Brenda Carns outlined a schedule for reinstating services such as community drop boxes, longer hours and special programs for teens and children. Some programs will be restored as soon as January. The schedule also includes construction of a new library in southeast Fort Collins.

Residents within the proposed district approved the library measure by a nearly 2-to-1 vote, a margin of victory that came as a pleasant surprise for district backers. As of Jan. 1, libraries within the district, including the existing Fort Collins libraries and the planned southeast facility, will be supported by a new, 3-mill property tax.

The taxing district, which includes most of Poudre School District and a slice of the Thompson School District, is expected to generate about $5.8 million annually for the library system. Wellington and Red Feather Lakes, which have their own libraries, opted not to be included in the district.

Commenting on the wide approval margin, Carns noted that residents value the public library and that the advantages of a district were explained well to voters. "I look forward to doing some good things for the community, instead of always eliminating services," she said.

Fort Collins already has $5 million in a special account to build the new library, which will be located in the Front Range Village shopping center at Harmony and Ziegler Roads. The second-floor library space, totaling 16,000 square feet, will be owned by the city and leased to the library district. Developers plan to break ground on the new shopping center in March.

Future ownership of the two current library buildings is under discussion, Carns said, and will be negotiated by the city council and the library district board of trustees.

Until now, the public library has been supported by the Fort Collins general fund, and the city's budget problems in recent years have spilled over to library programs. "It was a terrible downward spiral that started in 2002," Carns noted. In all, more than $500,000 in cuts were made to the library system.

Beginning in January, property owners will foot the bill for library services. The 3-mill property tax will amount to about $60 annually for a home assessed at $255,000, the average home value within district boundaries. The library district will begin to see a revenue stream in April, when the first property tax bills for the year come due.

Fort Collins, meanwhile, will save about $3.6 million a year by not having to fund the libraries.

Trustees chosen soon

The next important step is appointing a board of trustees to govern the library district. The nominating committee consists of county commissioners Kathay Rennels and Karen Wagner plus city council members Ben Manvel and Karen Weitkunat. The committee will nominate five to seven people to serve on the board, and both governing bodies must approve the slate.

To be eligible to serve as trustees, citizens must live within library district boundaries. The board will begin its duties on Jan. 1, at which point it will begin the process of transitioning library services from Fort Collins to the new district.

Applications will be available online or at city and county offices early in December. The two web sites are ww.larimer.orgw and www.fcgov.com. Interested people may also call the county commissioners' office at 498-7010 for more information.

Commissioner Wagner said she's excited the library issue passed. "We will make sure folks in the unincorporated part of the county have an opportunity to serve on the board, and we encourage them to apply," she said.

Another necessary step is to sign an intergovernmental agreement among the city, county and library district board. This must happen within 90 days after Jan. 1. Until the IGA is signed, Carns said, library staff will still be employees of the city.

The following is the schedule for restoring library programs and services.

• January: Operating hours will increase. The Main Library will again be open Thursday evenings, and Harmony Library will be open Saturday mornings. Also, the library system will add new books, CDs, DVDs and other materials to its collection.
• April: The six community drop boxes will again be in place. New drop boxes will be added in key locations outside the city but within the new library district boundaries. These provide the convenience of returning books without traveling to the library.
• In 2007: Programs for teens and children, cut in 2006, will be restored, including the position of teen librarian at the Harmony Library. Lu Benke, head of children's services, said she and her staff plan to restore the three Monday story times at the Main Library, increase the number of Mother Goose times for infants and toddlers and gradually expand the summer reading program into the rural parts of the county.

With stable funding in sight, the library staff wants to hear about the public's wants and needs. Forms are available at both public libraries for voicing opinions about programs and services.