TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

New Tampa Library Gets Boost

ADVERTISEMENT

By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: March 4, 2009

TAMPA - A New Tampa Regional Library renovation project has received an unexpected boost from the board that recommends unfunded Hillsborough County library capital improvements.

In a surprise move Thursday, the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Board rejected the recommendation of its planning committee, which two days earlier ranked new library projects in Wimauma and Bealsville as top priorities.

The board agreed to adopt the 2008 capital improvements list with a few changes, namely removing the previous top two ranked priorities, which were land acquisitions for future projects and replacing the Seminole Heights Library.

The new ranking pushed the New Tampa library renovation project - a 5,000-square-foot patio enclosure included in a broad expansion proposal that was ranked third last year - to the top of this year's list.

Before the vote, Joe Stines, director of Hillsborough County Library Services, told the citizen board that the planning committee's priority rankings were a departure from previous years, when it prioritized existing libraries ahead of new ones.

That was the position of New Tampa residents Said Iravani and Gary Nager, who urged the library board to support the exterior patio renovation proposal estimated to cost from $500,000 to $1.2 million.

Iravani, who asked the board to incorporate the 2008 priority ranking with this year's list, said he was delighted with the board's decision.

"This is an achievement for common sense and fiscal responsibility," said Iravani, who heads the New Tampa Friends of the Library committee pushing for expansion. "This is the first step toward the master plan for the New Tampa library."

The board's decision did not include a 10,000-square-foot addition the New Tampa library supporters also requested.

Backers of the New Tampa Regional Library at 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. are hoping the county will eventually double the size of the 25,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the growing community.

Tampa City Councilman Joe Caetano, who said he has been working behind the scenes to line up a private donor to help finance the expansion, welcomed the news of the board's revised ranking.

"At least that's a start," Caetano said.

The board's action was a stunning blow to some members of the planning committee, who on Feb. 24 ranked the renovation project ninth among the county library projects seeking funding from Hillsborough County.

James Harkins, one of the two planning committee members who voted against adopting the 2008 list, said the library board's action made him feel that all of the planning committee's work had been for nothing.

"We established a criteria, followed the criteria and this is the results," he said.

Stines and Laura Vickers, a member of the planning committee who supported adopting last year's ranking, said the board's decision would give the planning committee more time to review and improve the criteria system used to rank the library projects. Each project was awarded points based on service needs, building conditions, library standards, master plan concurrency, building and operating costs, and an average of bonus points.

New library proposals for Wimauma and Bealsville didn't fare well under the 2008 county library priority list. The Wimauma and Bealsville projects were ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.

Stines said the library projects would be submitted to Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean, who would decide whether to include the requests in the proposed 2009-10 budget she plans to present to the county commission in June for consideration.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT