Library director pitches tax at chamber's monthly coffee

Betty Martin tried to sum up the situation as succinctly as she could: "What I'm here to tell you is this: The library is cramped for space."

Martin, the Cape Girardeau Public Library's director, discussed the library's expansion plans at First Friday Coffee, an event attended by area business leaders and sponsored by the library.

"We need more space to adequately serve the citizens of Cape Girardeau," Martin told those attending the event at the Show Me Center.

Whether the expansion happens will be up to voters. The library is asking them to approve a 15-cent property tax in a special election Feb. 6. The tax increase would fund a $9 million project that would double the size of the facility on Clark Avenue to 38,860 square feet.

The proposed tax increase would nearly double the tax from its current 16.65 cents to 31.65 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The tax would be in effect for 20 years, but two cents of the tax would remain after the expiration for upkeep of the larger library.

The current library was built in 1980. This would be the first public request for an increase in funding in 40 years.

The presentation was among the first of 40 Martin and library supporters plan before community groups prior to the special election. Friday she asked the business community to ask what a library should be. Gone are the days of being shushed by librarians, she said.

"Today's library is a multimedia and resource center. Today's library is alive with activity. The Cape Girardeau Public Library isn't quiet. It's really become a community center," she said.

And it's increasingly full of card-carrying book lovers. For example, last year 10,566 children attended 243 programs at the library, she said. Seven hundred items are checked out each day.

A need exists for more meeting space, Martin said. The library has one meeting room, which was booked by 52 organizations on 469 occasions, she said. Every week, at least one organization is turned away because the room is booked, she said.

The library also lacks private space, she said. "We basically have tables in the middle of the building."

The current library lacks a dedicated space for children's activities and comfortable spaces for families, she said.

A simple majority is needed for passage of the tax increase.

If the tax is increased, Martin said, the owners of a home valued at $120,000 would pay $34 more a year in property tax to the library, or about 10 cents a day. Such a homeowner currently is taxed about $37 a year to fund the library.

Only Cape Girardeau voters living in the library district will be eligible to vote on the tax proposal. The library tax is being levied on property within the library district. Cape Girardeau's boundaries extend beyond the library district.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137