Minutes 03-15-2022 Business Meeting

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22 whether the current costs outweigh the current benefits. She said she is looking at now and the economic environment going forward to determine where the dollars are going to be best spent. She said that she feels it would be spending for the most vulnerable and that she does not feel that the library is in that category. She said the uncertainty in inflation and higher costs also makes this project hard to do. Commissioner Greene noted that Carrboro is discussing this matter tonight as well. She said that before the meeting she learned from the mayor that there will be six votes for the project to continue and one vote against it, with the one against being the same person that has historically voted against it. She said that Carrboro is the county's partner and has been from the beginning. She said there is such thing as good faith and reliance on a partner. She said this is a joint project that has been looked at favorably from previous commissioners. She said there has been a lot of time, energy, money, effort that has gone into this project so far for so many good reasons. She said that if they turn their backs on the project, they would be failing so many. She said that from a preservation perspective, there is the concept of embodied energy. She said that is when you do not want to tear down and old building because of all of the energy already spend building it. She said that while there is not a building at the project yet but plenty of energy and money that has gone into it. She said if it were not for the cost increase, the Board would be moving ahead and would already be spending $16.8 million for this project. She argued that an increase of $5.4 million is not the whole cost of the library. She said the commissioners will not all agree with where the money should go if not toward this project. She said that a public library is as important as schools and a behavioral health center. She said that because the Board believes in investing in early childhood. She said all speakers have told the commissioners of all the other benefits—social safety net benefits—that the county is charged with providing, that will be brought to the community with the approval of the library. She said that providing a place to gather for the youth will prevent them from future needs of behavioral health or crisis intervention. She said this will not be just a resource for the middle class in Carrboro to use. She said there are over 20,000 people in Carrboro that are not being served by a library. She said they have funded the Family Success Alliance because they invest in early childhood and families. She said she cannot advocate for this project strongly enough. She said she would propose allocating $3 million in capital reserve fund to this project and finance the rest. She said this is not a project the county should turn its back on and if that happens, it is bad business for partnership with Carrboro or any other municipality. She said that in regard to the Chapel Hill library, ever sense the project of the southwestern project came up, that over time it would make sense for the county's contribution to go down over time. She noted that libraries also provide internet access for people who do not have it another way. She said many people do not have internet access and there should be public access to computers in this part of town. She said she is passionately in favor of moving forward with this project. Chair Price said Commissioner Greene said many of the things she was going to say. She said a library is more of a place of books—it is a resource; it is for adults and people who don't have resources at home in addition to children. She said it is important for students to gather and study together. She said that schools close and people need a place to go in evenings and weekends. She said libraries were important to the Civil Rights Movement in the south. She said it is a place where differences can be equalized, because it is a place of coming together. She said libraries provide a venue for tutoring and other support services. She said that the Crisis Diversion Center is currently a concept and there is no guarantee that will be built anytime soon, just because this library is not built. She said the people in Northside, Southwest, the rural area, the refugee communities will be able to access the library and facilities. She said this collaboration with Carrboro speaks to One Orange—human development in addition to community development. She said that $5 million is a lot of money