Library interior plan approved, no council chambers

The new Maricopa library’s interior site plan came under scrutiny at Tuesday’s city council meeting when several council members questioned why council chambers had been removed from the plan they were being asked to approve (see related story).

The resulting discussion ended with plan approval being tabled and Mayor Anthony Smith appointing Councilmen Marvin Brown and Edward Farrell to meet with Community Services Director Marty McDonald to assess the changes in the plan. Following their meeting on Thursday morning, Nov. 20, a special council meeting was called for Saturday afternoon, Nov. 22.

At that meeting, attended by Mayor Smith and five council members (Vice Mayor Brent Murphree was out of town), approval of the interior site plan was re-addressed.

McDonald explained that some design handicaps exist in the plan, including two weight bearing walls that must be worked around. In addition, according to McDonald, inclusion of council chambers would take the total 8,085 square feet of library space down to about 6,000 square feet. He reminded council that Library Impact Fees, used to pay design costs and purchase the opening collection of approximately 14,000 books, cannot be utilized for council chambers.

Councilman Brown explained that cost was also prohibitive. “It would take about $250,000 to make it doable,” he said, noting that at Thursday’s meeting the committee “looked at about 10 various designs.”

City Manager Kevin Evans reiterated that the proposed council chambers would not be as large as the room, often standing room only, where council currently meets at the Global Water Center. “There wasn’t any way to make it work and have the library maintain its integrity,” said Evans. He assured council that the community room, with seating for 30 people and a capacity of 49 people, could be used for smaller city and committee meetings. It will also be available for public use.

“I’m going to support this, but I’m not pleased we don’t have a home,” said Brown. “It’s ridiculous to pay rent and ridiculous we don’t have a city hall. In the future if council’s desires are not met, I will reject, and I want that on record.”

Offering citizen input, Alan Marchione noted that he had researched the June council meeting minutes, which indicated the original plan called for council chambers to be part of the library’s interior design.

Councilman Joseph Estes made the motion to approve the plan without council chambers, with a second by Council member Marquisha Griffin and a unanimous vote by council to approve. Estes did voice a concern, “If changes are made contrary to the wishes of council, those should be addressed by council.”

The next Maricopa City Council meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Global Water Center.

Submitted photo