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New NB library site approvedBy Barbara Brown After several committee meetings and much discussion at Monday nightís North Branch city council meeting, the council voted unanimously to support the design for a new library as recommended by the cityís library task force. The design is for a 14,000 square-foot building complete with a community room, conference area, childrenís area, teen reading and study area, fireplace with cushioned seating and an outdoor patio. The community room will be accessible to the public even if the library is closed. The hottest topic during conversations about the library over the past four months has been where it should be located. Several sites were considered during the process, but the past monthís discussions have focused on land immediately near the new North Branch Fire Hall. A northerly site on the property was approved at the councilís Dec. 8 meeting. The site is about three acres and has natural landscaping made up of shrubberies and trees already on the site. A southerly site on the fire hall property also is about three acres, but its biggest drawback is that it is immediately adjacent to an unattractive regional storm pond. Committee members said they understood that outfitting the northerly site with storm sewer piping would cost about $60,000 more than the southerly site because of access to an existing pipe stub. However, members said the projects may break even when the cost for extensive landscaping on the southerly site was considered. The architects for the project, KKE Architects, had been hired by the county to design and bid the project in North Branch along with libraries in Wyoming and the Chisago Lakes area. The greatest tool the architects are using is the ability to self-market the library by visibility. The building would be situated so the main reading room will be visible through glass walls from 379th Street; the road that accesses the fire hall off CR 30. The front of the building and the parking area would face CR 30 and would be designed to mesh well with the design of the fire hall but retain its own identity and not look like an annex to the fire hall, said architect Muhammed Lawal. One of the provisions of the county allowing North Branch to benefit from the sale of a $6.5 million bond for the libraries construction was that the land had to be donated by the city and be set up with utilities by the city. The northerly site has a 50-foot utility easement adjacent to the property the could make access to utilities easier than running new lines. Council member Amy Oehlers said the building is ìbeautiful,î but added that she had hoped the city would have been able to consider a downtown location for the new library. Lawal and architect Sara Rothholz Weiner will present plans for the three new library buildings to the county board at a meeting Dec. 17. Lawal told the North Branch council the architecture firm plans to have the projects ready for bid by April. ©ECM Post Review |