Minutes 10-13-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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library as well as parking. He said that this site might be a consideration if it fails with CVS. He said that the cost issue needs to be at the forefront. Lydia Lavelle agreed with Sammy Slade and urged the County to think about a two- story library versus a one-story library. She said that, in looking at the estimated cost analysis, if a site is selected in Orange County versus Carrboro, it looks like it is more expensive for Carrboro. She asked about the proposal to change the zoning process to make it less costly and time-consuming. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he was suggesting a different zoning process for siting some public facilities. This would make it easier and quicker for things to occur. Lydia Lavelle said that she would like the Aldermen to consider this request. Randee Haven O'Donnell made reference to the Phase 2 slide about centrality and asked if the County was more interested in siting in a more central location because of the study. She said that she had previously thought that a southwest library would need to be sited more "southwest", which would be outside of the urban center. Chair Pelissier said that she would not interpret it that way. She said that all factors are being taken into consideration. Randee Haven O'Donnell said that if the criterion for Phase 2 is centrality, then this would lend itself to be closer to an urban area because the larger population is there. She said that it does not make sense to put it further away from the urban center. Dan Coleman said that there are no schools or retail west of Carrboro plaza and the town limits and it seems that the criteria addressed Randee Haven O'Donnell's concerns. Commissioner McKee said that, in his mind, centrality does not mean downtown or out in Orange Grove, but it means central to public transportation and in the foreseeable future that access to this library will be by Carrboro. Mayor Chilton said that he would challenge his notion. He said that the Cybrary has a lot of usage and he would doubt that most people arrive by car. Commissioner McKee said that he remains convinced that the majority of the patrons will use the southwest branch library and will access it by car. At the same time, he wants to make sure that it is accessible by mass transit and that it is reasonably close to future development. Commissioner Jacobs said that he talked with Mayor Chilton about the library, and he never advocated a lot of parking, single-story, or 20,000 square feet. He said that a lot of people use libraries now for computers. He agrees with the people that are arguing that the assumptions need to be considered. He said that the public should be engaged about this. He said that a southwest branch looks different to the County Commissioners than it looks to the Board of Aldermen. Frank Clifton said that a building of this size needs to have access to water and sewer. There were sites considered along 54 in the developed area. The goal is to avoid some of the operational issues that the County deals with now that add costs to daily operations. Dan Coleman said that he wanted to make sure that the transportation issue in Bingham Township is not overstated. Randee Haven O'Donnell said that she was on the last library task force and she was connected with the librarians that were on the last two library task forces. She said that the conversation is moving toward the "southwest corner" of Carrboro versus the urban notion of a library. She said that she wondered what was driving the shift in the conversation these days. Even a year ago, the Board of County Commissioners was looking at the previous site on Hillsborough Road. She said that it seems that the trajectory is taking a sharp turn in a different direction. Mayor Chilton said that 20 years ago Chapel Hill moved its library on Estes Drive, which did not have access to public transportation at that time. The Chapel Hill Town Council