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11 <br /> 1 and said that he would like to see more urban sites considered. He referenced his website, <br /> 2 www.citybeautiful2l.com <br /> 3 Gary Giles referenced the feasibility study mentioned by Patrick McDonough and said <br /> 4 the study proved the site could work. He said he hoped the board would review the report. He <br /> 5 said he appreciates the comments made about the changing nature of libraries and noted that <br /> 6 the digital age is here and is shrinking the need for traditional libraries. He said the he had just <br /> 7 gotten back from the Hunt Library in Raleigh and it is a grand library but has not accounted for <br /> 8 the digital age. He said that the library planning reports do not account for this new digital age. <br /> 9 He said that the urban sites have the advantage of having Carrboro contribute the cost of the <br /> 10 land, because it is a public site. He said there are several sites where no-rezoning will be <br /> 11 required, there is existing infrastructure, and no trees need to be cut down. He said all of these <br /> 12 things save money and the urban concept should be looked at. <br /> 13 Nerys Levy, with the Friends of the Carrboro Library, said she has been working on this <br /> 14 project for 23 years and she commended the work being done to serve the underserved. She <br /> 15 noted the population of 35,000 underserved citizens in southern and southwestern Orange <br /> 16 County. She said there are plenty of librarians and experts to help with the planning to make <br /> 17 this happen. She said the decision needs to be made soon because 15,000 people in Orange <br /> 18 County cannot read or write. She said this is a serious situation and there are 7 generations of <br /> 19 underserved people. She said that the Friends of Carrboro Library has lost 64 members as a <br /> 20 result of this lengthy process. She said that a decision is needed now. <br /> 21 Marilee Teague, resident of Bingham Township, said that a full service library would be <br /> 22 redundant to the Chapel Hill library. She noted that her measurement of the distance from one <br /> 23 of the proposed sites in Carrboro to the Chapel Hill Library is only 3.4 miles. She said that she <br /> 24 feels this idea needs to be reconceived and the $8 million capital expenditure would be better <br /> 25 invested in another way. She said that the expenses of a library of this size could be used for <br /> 26 things such as bringing a dental clinic back to Carrboro and improving schools, rather than <br /> 27 duplicating services. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Chair Jacobs asked Lucinda Munger to explain the Library Strategic plan and timeline. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 Lucinda Munger said this will come before the board in May and will provide the Board <br /> 32 of Commissioners a draft for discussion. She said this is the first one ever done and the <br /> 33 purpose of the plan is to seek the input of the residents of Orange County on what they would <br /> 34 like in a 21 st century library. This will help create a better vision of what the residents of Orange <br /> 35 County want in a full service library, and will give a clear direction on which to go to serve the <br /> 36 needs of the residents. <br /> 37 Chair Jacobs asked the Commissioners to frame comments with the thought of directing <br /> 38 staff in how to move forward. <br /> 39 Commissioner Pelissier said it should be noted that the Board is interested in looking at <br /> 40 other sites and considering multi-use facilities. She also expressed a desire to consider the <br /> 41 long term needs of the library in the future. <br /> 42 Commissioner Dorosin said he favors the Fidelity Street site and feels that locating a <br /> 43 library in a working class neighborhood is better than a locating it in a residential neighborhood. <br /> 44 He also said he is open to considering other sites. <br /> 45 Commissioner McKee said, given the comments of the Town Board and the proposed <br /> 46 strategic plan, he feels the Board needs to take time to look around more; and he feels that the <br /> 47 Board also needs to consider what a 21St century library looks like. He said parking is a major <br /> 48 issue to him when siting this library, considering there will be many people using it that will not <br /> 49 use public transportation of be close enough to bike. He expressed concern with placing a <br /> 50 library in downtown Carrboro, where there are already parking issues. He said another critical <br />