HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-07-22 MinutesFayetteville Public Library
Board of Trustees Special Meeting
July 22, 2013, 5:30 pm
Minutes •
Prepared by S. Daniel, Office Manager
Board members present: K. Agee, C. Adams, B. Boudreaux, S. Clark, S. Graham, E. Jordan, and M. Rice.
Staff present: D. Johnson, L. Greenwood, S. Palmer, S. Daniel, M. Burdette, B. Holt, and D. Wax
Press: T. Hernandez
Others: V. Chadick, Bassett Law Firm LLP
I. The Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm by K. Agee.
II. Draft Master Plan: D. Johnson noted attendance at many programs exceeds capacity so that
people must be turned away or the library must pay for a second performance. In turn,
parking has become a problem. The current building was designed to accommodate a
community with 50% active cardholders. In actuality, about 88% of residents in our service
area have library cards. As a result, the community has outgrown this building earlier than
predicted. These circumstances led the Board to contract with architect Jeffrey Scherer and
library consultant Anders Dahlgren - both preeminent in their field - for a space needs
analysis. A series of community input sessions helped determine the community's needs.
Based on this data, Scherer developed a draft master plan calling for 168,000 sq ft of library
space. Though expansion is possible on the current footprint, the maximum attainable is
124,000 sq ft necessitating the need to eliminate services, revisit the space issue again in a
short time frame, and move existing operations off site during the building process.
Washington Regional's decision to sell the former City Hospital land presented an option for
FPL to expand in proximity to its existing structure. Though nearing completion of the selling
process, hospital CEO Bill Bradley agreed to give the library an opportunity to submit an offer
with the understanding that the library would accelerate its planning and purchasing process.
III. Legal limitations for libraries to acquire land and enter into debt: V. Chadick noted the •
library board has the authority under Arkansas law to purchase property; municipal approval
is not required. It probably has the authority to borrow money and presumably can enter into
an agreement with Washington Regional to make installment payments. It does not have the
authority to issue bonds; only the city may do so. If the library were to borrow funds, the
question becomes how to collateralize the loan. D. Johnson emphasized that funds
designated for maintenance and operation of the library would not be used to collateralize a
loan. Within the bounds of the law, the library board may make final decisions on purchasing
and taking out a loan without City Council approval. If FPL enters into a loan, the city of
Fayetteville's bond rating is not affected.
IV. Appraisal of Washington Regional property by The Real Estate Consultants: The property
appraised at $16/sq ft; the existing structures are without value. The appraised value is not
related to the sale price.
V. Environmental assessment & disclosure: An environmental assessment was done in 1992 and
an abatement program in the early 2000s addressed a portion of the asbestos present in the
building. EEG is currently doing a second analysis (full phase 2) to determine how much
asbestos is left. Once the quantity is known, an abatement cost can be estimated. None of
the other bidders has done an environmental assessment.
M. Rice moved the library board discuss with Washington Regional the options for public use
of this land; this motion is nonrestrictive on future decisions about the property. B.
Boudreaux seconded. All voted AYE.
VI. Options to fund a possible purchase: S. Davis identified several funding sources (see memo)
that could be used to create a $2 million offer. Foundation money would not be used nor
would the Library's building maintenance and IT funds. A fund to replace furniture would be •
drawn down leaving a corpus of $100,000. In summary, the proposed approach would not
impose any risk on the operation of the existing building. FPL management is currently in
talks with Arvest about the possibility of borrowing and has asked Arvest to quote interest
rates for a range of amounts. 6
M. Rice moved to create a committee composed of K. Agee, D. Johnson, S. Davis and V.
Chadick to engage with the Washington Regional board and management to explain FPL's
purpose is to develop the property for public use and further explain that the real value of the
• property includes intangibles to the community, the work of this committee to be done
expeditiously. Motion failed for lack of a second.
VII. Discussion: The Washington Regional Board is unwilling to accept a discounted offer;
therefore the library's bid needs to be competitive and timely. We don't know what the other
bids have been; however they are contingent upon the city council agreeing to rezone the
property. It is the library board's job to determine how much to offer and to present terms
most appealing to Washington Regional.
M. Rice moved to appoint a committee composed of K. Agee, D. Johnson, S.Davis, and V.
Chadick to meet with the trustees and management of Washington Regional and offer $2
million for the property emphasizing the value of its public use. The committee is authorized
to work out the terms of the offer and a possible naming opportunity for Washington Regional.
C. Adams seconded. All voted AYE.
VIII. Adjournment:
B. Boudreaux
moved to adjourn; M. Rice seconded. All voted AYE.
Meeting
adjourned at
6:45 pm.
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