Library public meeting

Last Thursday the King County Library system held another public meeting to review the status and progress of the Newcastle project. The meeting went very well and was attended by several residents in addition to the group of regulars (council, staff, commissioners). I will try to summarize the main points:

• The Library is on track to begin construction in approx one year from now (Jun 2008)
• 2 design plans are being pursued. First is a single story, single use building. The second is a Mixed use, multi story building.
• Bill Ptacek made mention that construction costs are rising and a mixed use development could help offset those costs which is why they were reviewing proposals from a handful of developers. They will make a decision on whether to continue to pursue the mixed use option in the next few weeks.
• A model and conceptual drawings of both a single and multi story building were presented by Mithun Architects.
• Discussion was had around the orientation of the building and it was fairly unanimous that a western entrance would be preferred.
• Parking in the multi story design was discussed in length. Many people had much concern about this. The Mithun representatives acknowledged this was a challenge and would continue to look at options.

In all the meeting was a great status report from KCLS. I had met with Bill Ptacek earlier in the week and was glad that the positive tenor from our meeting carried through to the public meeting on the part of everyone who attended.

I have a clear bias toward the multi use proposal the library has presented. Clearly the library will be a great addition to the city in whatever form it takes, but a mixed-use facility would be the first piece in changing our business district into a vibrant pedestrian center. Look for more information from both the library and the city on this issue in the coming weeks and months.