Gulf Gate Library's rebuilding price tag called into question

What is a library’s purpose in the era of the eBook?

That’s an inquiry that came to light when Sarasota County Planning Commission board member Jody Hudgins questioned the cost of the Gulf Gate Library project during a July 19 meeting.

“I’m just afraid this is a tired model — a tired template,” Hudgins said. “It just seems like $7 million is a lot of money.”

The Planning Commission approved the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, with Hudgins as the dissenting vote. But, Sarasota County commissioners may reconsider the project’s cost during budget workshops in August, after the Planning Commission voted unanimously for a request that the July 19 meeting minutes reflect its concerns. Sarasota County spokesman Curt Preisser said it’s too early to confirm the agenda for the Aug. 20 budget workshop.

“Libraries, I’m afraid, have become PalmPilots and Blackberries,” Hudgins said. “It just seems we can retool what we have and use capital-improvement monies somewhere a little more strategic.”

Hudgins suggested the $7 million that would be pulled from the Infrastructure Surtax III revenues in the 2013 fiscal year could be reduced for a renovation instead — a $1 million renovation to improve technological capabilities of the space.

“I really hate to do that, because, when it comes to money, I think those should be (Board of County Commissioners) decisions,” said Planning Commissioner Marianne Reilly. “However, I think as a land-use committee, we certainly can make recommendations to take a second look at something like that.”

But, the design by Harvard Jolly Inc. incorporates a technology lab with laptops and building-wide wireless Internet connections, said Carolyn Eastwood, a program manager with Sarasota County Public Works. And stakeholders collected public input at open houses attended by Gulf Gate community members.

If commissioners address the issue, it’s unlikely there will be a long debate. In a June 26 regular meeting, the project design received unanimous approval from commissioners.

“I would be very upset to see the plan get derailed like this,” said Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson during a July 31 phone interview with the Pelican Press.

An Aug. 9 public meeting to unveil interior finishes will be pushed back to Aug. 29, said the Gulf Gate Library project manager Coleman Knott, which is about a week after Sarasota County commissioners could potentially re-examine the project’s cost.

“I think they’re concerned about the changing nature of libraries is a valid one,” Patterson said. “I don’t think we need a library on every corner, but this library is part of the community.”