Library board votes in favor of southwest branch design with parking garage
During the Monroe County Public Library's board of trustees special meeting on Tuesday, the board unanimously approved a design option for the upcoming southwest branch of the library that includes an underground parking garage with 105 spaces.
The new library will be on the southwest corner of Batchelor Middle School grounds, west of the South Rogers Street and West Gordon Pike roundabout.
The option that the board approved includes a parking garage under the 21,000-square-foot building that provides sheltered parking. This takes advantage of the 15-foot drop in elevation from the west to east end of the building, Christine Matheu, president of Matheu Architects, said.
When making a decision between the option with the parking garage and an option with surface parking, which would cost less, the board considered the long-term value of the building and ongoing maintenance cost for the elevator necessary with the garage as well as cost savings from less need for snow removal with the garage.
The parking garage, on the lower level of the library, would be accessed by a drive along the north side of the building and the library would face Gordon Pike. An elevator would provide access from the garage to the lobby. The main entry would be near the southwest corner of the building with a secondary entry able to be accessed from the parking garage from the southeast corner of the building. This plan locates the building at the east side of a surface parking area, according to plans detailed in the board packet, prepared by Matheu Architects and civil engineering firm Bledsoe Riggert Cooper James.
A new roundabout, which Monroe County's planning department is in the process of planning, will control traffic for South Clear View Drive, Gordon Pike and the entry drive to Batchelor, according to the board packet. Drivers can access the proposed branch from the school drive just north of the new roundabout.
An entry from the Batchelor Middle School driveway would also access the parking area for this option, and a drop-off area would be on the west side of the building. A sidewalk and steps would connect the southeast entry with the main building entry and an interior stair would connect the garage and southeast entry to the building lobby. A proposed sidewalk along Gordon Pike would also provide access.
Due to sloped land and the garage being under the main building level, rock removal is anticipated at the west end of the garage, according to the design plans. The option approved by the board limits the amount of tree removal and also focuses on invasive species with new native trees anticipated to replace many if not all of the trees removed.
Thousands of the native trees surrounding Batchelor Middle School were planted by Monroe County Community School Corp. students through an annual event called Tree Fest, which was started in the late 1990s and lasted about a decade.
"We're very aware and it's become even more apparent in the community that the trees are important for lots of reasons on that site," Matheu said. "We really love the idea, the whole library loves the idea, that we're nestled in the trees."
Matheu also mentioned that the parking garage option allows for a clear open area on the east side that could accommodate some amenities discussed in the feasibility study, such as outdoor spaces for school groups in the summer or possibly a small amphitheater or terrace.
The option is estimated at $8,488,614 according to plans detailed in the board packet. Blundall Associates Inc. prepared the probable cost.
The option with the parking garage is about $1 million more than what the library had been planning, Gary Lettelleir, the library's financial officer, said. The original plan was a $5 million construction bond and $2 million general obligation bond.
"So if we go with Option 2 we can increase the general obligation bond from $2 million to $3 million, and stay within that 10-cent tax rate guideline," he said.
After the vote, during time for public comment, Claire Quimby, who lives on Gordon Pike, said if she had been able to come give public comment earlier, she might have asked for a parking lot to the north. She said she saw in the board packet that invasive trees removed will be replaced with native species and asked the board to continue considering the landscape for those who will come to the library and those who live near it.
Andy Qualls, Quimby's neighbor, said he is in favor of the option that the board approved because he and his neighbors will not be looking at a parking lot. He said it will be much more aesthetically pleasing than a "boatload of asphalt."
Now that the board has voted on a design option, the plan will be submitted to the county for a subdivision request, Mandy Hussey, MCPL communications and marketing manager, has told The Herald-Times.
At the end of January or early February 2021, the library will purchase the approximately 5.5 acres of land from the MCCSC for the new branch at a cost of $27,500 per acre, or around $151,250. The new branch is expected to open in fall of 2022.