Ian Hrabe, Kansas University junior and Lawrence Public Library employee, re-shelves books Saturday, March 10, 2007, at the library, 707 Vt. City Commission candidates disagree on whether and how the city should move forward with plans for a new library.

It’s old, it’s cramped and parts of it are just plain worn out.

The six candidates for the Lawrence City Commission agree on those points when it comes to the Lawrence Public Library. But they do have differences on whether and how the city should move forward on building a new $30 million library and parking garage.

Among the issues creating disagreement:

¢ None of the candidates gives a glowing recommendation for a plan recommended by the city’s library board to build the library on the site of the main post office, at the northwest corner of Seventh and Vermont streets. But some were more open to the idea than others.

¢ The post office project is being proposed as a public-private partnership with members of the Gene Fritzel Construction group. It would include about $100 million worth of private development on Vermont Street during a 10-year period. Candidates are split on whether the city should partner with private developers on a library project.

¢ Some candidates questioned whether a downtown library needs to be as large as the proposed project, which would about double the size of the current library. Some candidates said the city should consider opening satellite library locations or do a better job of using technology to serve patrons.

¢ Most of the candidates generally favor a new sales tax over a property tax increase to pay for the library construction. All candidates agree that a citywide vote is necessary for any significant library improvement.

The general election is April 3. Voters can choose three candidates to fill three at-large seats.

Here’s a look at what the candidates have to say on the library issue.

James Bush

Bush, a Lawrence pastor, said he could envision a library at the site of the current post office.

“I think that is one of the sites that make sense for me,” Bush said.

Bush said he wants to be aggressive in seeking corporate sponsorship for the library, which would allow companies or philanthropists to have naming rights for reading rooms or other parts of the facility.

But he concedes that won’t be enough to pay for a new library. He prefers a sales tax over increasing property taxes to pay for a library.

A full 1-cent sales tax, however, likely would be too much for him to support because he fears it may hurt local retailers. Bush said a sales tax increase in the 0.25 percent range would be more acceptable.

He said he was not interested, however, in expanding the library discussion beyond one destination-style library in downtown. Bush said he likes the downtown strategy, in part because the library project would help address downtown parking needs. He also said he was comfortable with the library being part of a public-private partnership.

Rob Chestnut

Chestnut, chief financial officer at Allen Press, said he needs quite a bit more information before he’s willing to make commitments to a library project. That includes deciding whether the postal site is the right one for a new library.

“I think it is too early to talk about that site in particular,” Chestnut said.

Chestnut said he’s concerned about the operating costs for a larger library. City staff members have provided estimates that suggest the costs could double, meaning the property tax mill levy would increase by 2 to 3 mills.

“For me, it is not just about raising $30 million,” Chestnut said. “It is about figuring out what the costs are going to be in perpetuity.”

Chestnut said he would like the city to do more analysis of all the sites that have been in consideration instead of focusing on the postal site. He also said he’s open to considering satellite locations, but said any library project would have to include significant improvements to the downtown library.

A property tax increase to fund construction of the library would be “off the table” for Chestnut, but he said he would have to look at property taxes to fund additional library operational expenses.

But he couldn’t yet say how large of a sales tax he would support. Chestnut said he wants to explore the idea of a public-private partnership, as long as it has adequate protection for the public.

Mike Dever

Dever, the owner of an environmental consulting firm, doesn’t want the library project to focus solely on downtown.

“I know a lot of people are in favor of satellite libraries,” Dever said. “There is a lot of stuff that exists right now both in terms of space and parking that we can use.”

Dever said he would like to look at renovating the library and complementing it with a more “comprehensive system geographically.”

That might help the costs get below the projected $30 million, he said. He said finding cost savings is important because he does not support raising property taxes to build a library and could only support a “modest or minor” sales tax increase. “Nowhere near a 1-cent increase,” he said.

In terms of what role private developers should play in the process, he said he needed more information before he would be comfortable getting the city involved in a partnership.

Boog Highberger

Highberger, an incumbent commissioner and an attorney with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, wants a new library to be in the downtown but doesn’t support the proposal for the postal site.

Highberger said the Fritzel proposal has too many questions, such as how much it would cost for the city to acquire the site. He also said he thought the developers had made the library too much of a secondary part of their proposal to redevelop Vermont Street.

“My sense is that that proposal puts the library at the site that is least desirable for retail space instead of putting it on the site that is best for the library,” Highberger said. “I don’t think that is acceptable.”

The best site for the library may be its current location at 707 Vt., Highberger said. He also isn’t interested in opening satellite locations. He said a new library project would help with downtown parking, alleviate a shortage of downtown meeting space and “just help keep the focus of our public life downtown.”

Highberger said he is reluctantly supporting a sales tax increase to fund a library project.

He also sees some appeal to a full 1-cent sales tax that would allow the library to be paid off in less than five years. After the library is paid off, the sales tax should expire, he said.

Carey Maynard-Moody

Maynard-Moody, a retired school social worker, said: “We need to get clever about providing access to all the books in Douglas County. We need to figure out how to bring the books to the people instead of the people to the books.”

Maynard-Moody estimates there are about 5 million books in about 50 libraries in the county, including city, university and school facilities. An online database, which would let residents order a book for delivery to their home or at pickup locations throughout the city, might be a way to reduce library expansion costs, she said.

She also said she would like to keep the project focused on renovating the existing library.

“I think the image people had when the library talk first got started was of a glorious trophy library,” Maynard-Moody said. “It will be hard to get off that image, but these are tough times right now.”

She’s not convinced there needs to be as much parking added downtown as some people think. Downtown already has become less pedestrian-friendly, she said, and more cars will worsen the problem.

Maynard-Moody also has come out as the strongest among the candidates against a sales tax increase because Kansas law does not exempt groceries from sales tax. She said she would look to private fundraising and perhaps a small property tax increase to fund construction of a library renovation.

“Maybe if we could get $5 million from donors and another $5 million from the public, that could get us started, and then we could revisit it again when times are better,” she said.

David Schauner

Schauner, an incumbent commissioner and general counsel for the Kansas National Education Association, is promoting the most aggressive timetable for the library project.

“We ought to be moving on this for a fall 2007 election,” Schauner said. “I think we need to put something out there for the public to decide.”

Schauner is doubtful that it should be the proposal for the post office site, however. He has concerns that the latest proposal calls for the existing post office operations to move into space in the former Riverfront Mall near Sixth and New Hampshire streets.

“I think that is going to be an unfriendly place for retail postal customers,” Schauner said. “It may be difficult to get into and out of.”

He likes the idea of using the existing site for a new library and said he would like to explore the idea of incorporating the Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vt., into the project. He’s not interested in satellite locations.

Whatever project is put forward to voters, Schauner said it would be his “strong preference” that it be a public project. Many of the public-private partnership proposals have left too many questions about the cost to the public, he said.

In terms of financing, Schauner said he’s open to a sales tax or property tax increase to pay for the project. He said that is an issue that needs to be decided directly by voters.