Library board will try again for new building

After a resounding defeat at the polls April 2, the Bollinger County Library Board met and decided "we're going to have to go for it again," said library director Eva Dunn.

A new campaign won't happen until maybe April 2014, after board members have had a chance to speak with more people and, as Dunn said, "convince them that we don't just want a new building; we need one.

"We need a whole lot of education. A lot of people got misinformation," Dunn told the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce last week.

Despite efforts on the part of those who support the new building that would house not only the library, but the extension service and the county archives, the issue was defeated 809-240. Dunn had said earlier if the issue failed, the board would bring it back until it passes. After reviewing the matter at its meeting after the election, the board decided it needed to communicate its needs more clearly to more people.

Many people thought the vote only was for a new library building, commented chamber president Garry Major. In addition, none of the other issues in the county sparked as much attention as that issue did -- with the exception of the successful use tax issue -- and many people were uninterested or unaware there was an election.

Only 8 percent of registered Bollinger County voters went to the polls.

Dunn also criticized the ballot language.

The $5 million building would have tripled the size of not only the library, but the county archive and the extension service -- the two entities that needed it the most.

"The ballot language could not include the word ‘extension,'" Dunn said.

The extension service and the library board are taxing entities, and there could be no crossover mentioned of one taxing entity on another's ballot issue.

The archive currently is not handicapped accessible, and is so crowded with information to be stored that it is difficult to move about in it, said Presiding County Commissioner Travis Elfrink, who is wheelchair bound and has never been in the archive.

Because the proposed building would be a publicly-supported building, the cost of it was higher because of the prevailing wage. A private building could be built at less cost, Dunn said, by factoring in the cost of labor at local rates, but public buildings are figured at the higher, prevailing wage costs.

The library board plans to focus more in showing the public the need for the archive and the extension center, as well as for the need for a growing library. The board also will work on making the wording of the next ballot clearer.

"We're going to do a lot of re-educating," Dunn said. "There are a lot of things people don't know about the library, the extension and the archive. It's not that we want a pretty new building. There's a lot of fear and misunderstanding that got out. We need a lot of re-education and questions and answers."