Chapel Hill has accepted an agreement to get more money from Orange County for its library.

The council approved the agreement 6-3 with Easthom, Czajkowski and Bell dissenting.

In December, the Orange County commissioners approved the agreement, in which the county increases its contribution to the Chapel Hill library by 3 percent each year, until the allocation reaches 30 percent of the county's total library operations budget by June 20, 2015.

The county will give $342,986, up from $250,000, to Chapel Hill for its library for the next fiscal year, which is 21 percent of the county's library operating budget, according to the agreement.

The controversial proposal to move the Chapel Hill Public Library to University Mall appears dead.

In an e-mail to Town Council members Wednesday night, Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil says the town and mall owner Madison Marquette have not been able to reach a level of savings over expanding the library at its current site to make a permanent move to the mall feasible.   

The Town Council is scheduled to discuss the mall offer Monday night. The town has received more than 1,000 e-mails about the proposal to move the libary into the Dillard's location, most of them negative.

"I will leave the Library item on the agenda  for your discussion Monday night but [Madison Marquettte managing director Jay Lask] and I share the view that we have not been able to reach a level of savings that makes this an attractive offer to the Town, given all the other concerns raised," Stancil said in his e-mail.

"We have not negotiated in this process, but we did encourage Madison Marquette to put their best offer on the table," he continued. "While initiating negotiations would provide an opportunity to clarify many of the issues raised, those negotiations would not likely increase the savings and would delay the opening of new library facilities."

The town inititally estimated it could save taxpayers $4 million by moving to the mall instead of carrying out a planned $16 million expansion approved by voters at the library's current site off Estes Drive. But the town's initial cost comparison did not include the $4 million cash purchase price the mall wanted for the Dillard's space. 

In a letter, Lask said Madison Marquette still thinks the move could save the town $1.5 million in construction costs less than half the original estimated savings.

"Understandably, without there being significant cost savings, a change the direction of a project so close to ground breaking that has been in planning for so many years is hard to justify," Lask wrote. "While we believe the Town could utilize the library as a catalyst for economic growth, we also understand the reasons why it may choose not to do so, particularly so close to groundbreaking."

As Chapel Hill considers whether to permanently move its library to University Mall, the key players are remaining silent.

Last month, mall owner Madison Marquette offered to sell the town 52,000 square feet of the space currently housing Dillard’s. It asked for $4 million cash for the space, providing the department store ends its lease. If the town agrees, it could save money over the planned expansion of the current library on Estes Drive and use the building for other needs.

Neither Madison Marquette nor Dillard’s will say when the department store’s lease is up, and Dillard’s won't comment for a story coming Sunday in The Chapel Hill News.

“Right now, they’re going to be there until their lease expires,” says University Mall General Manager Peter DeLeon. “At this stage, Dillard’s is not leaving; a lot of people are speculating about the idea, [but] there is nothing in writing.”
 

Councilwoman Laurin Easthom wanted to plan for a non-resident library user fee starting next July, and colleague Matt Czajkowski wanted to start even sooner than that, but the rest of the Town Council decided Monday to give the Orange County commissioners a chance to increase their funding to the Chapel Hill Public Library next fiscal year.

The town has been complaining for years that county residents from outside Chapel Hill borrow 40 percent of the library’s materials but the county pays only about 10 percent of the library’s budget – not even accounting for what Chapel Hill residents pay toward the county’s own libraries in Hillsborough and Carrboro. But commissioners recently decided they couldn’t pay any more than their standard $250,000 for the fiscal year beginning next month.

Easthom suggested forfeiting that money and charging county residents an annual fee just like the library charges patrons from outside Orange County. The council has not considered a specific fee proposal, but non-county residents pay $60 per year to use the town’s library.

The Chapel Hill Town Council will decide this spring whether or not to double the size of the current public library off Estes Drive at a cost of $16 million. In an e-mail written from Lisa Price's account, she and her husband, U.S. Rep. David Price, threw their support behind the controversial project.

"The new library was built too small [in 1994] because of the opposition," wrote the couple, who has lived in Chapel Hill for decades. "In 2003, Chapel Hill voters voted three to one to increase the size. Now, seven years later, it is time to get our library to its proper size. Let's not miss this opportunity to give Chapel Hill the library it deserves."

The majority of the Town Council voted Monday to direct Town Manager Roger Stancil to negotiate with Orange County Manager Frank Clifton to increase the county's share of funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library.

The two council members who voted against that plan wanted an immediate vote in favor of a long-planned $16-million expansion at the current library off Estes Drive. The majority also supported the expansion but opted to wait until an agreement with the county was in hand before acting. The council has until this summer to decide whether to issue about $20 million in bonds for the library and parks that voters approved in 2003.

"I don't see how we strengthen our position with Orange County ... if we make a decision tonight to go forward," said Councilman Matt Czajkowski.

"We don't have to move with irrational haste," agreed Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.

The majority also left open the possibility that Stancil's talks with the county could include a branch near the Carrboro town line, which might trigger capital funding from the county. As it stands, county leaders are only willing to increase their share of operating costs unless a project would also meet their goal of a full-service branch in Carrboro.

About 40 percent of library patrons come from Orange County outside Chapel Hill, but the county's funding makes up only about 11 percent of the library's operating budget.

"What if the county has the ability to take our $15 million and turn it into $25 million," said Councilman Gene Pease. "I'm kind of intrigued by the pressure we've put on the county and what they've come back with."

Councilwoman Penny Rich, who voted against the delay, doesn't think the county will back out of its tentative proposal to double its annual contribution to $500,000.

But "we can't be sure of anything, of any funding from the county," said Councilman Jim Ward.

Town Manager Roger Stancil wants the Town Council to wait until after he and Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt meet with county board Chairwoman Valerie Foushee and County Manager Frank Clifton before deciding on a $16-million library expansion project.

In a memo prior to tonight's Town Council meeting, Stancil said the council needs to authorize the use of voter-approved bonds or request an extension of those bonds by May 24.

Contributing disproportionately little in funding to the Chapel Hill Public Library, Orange County leaders have said they won't increase their contribution for capital costs unless the town abandons expanding its Estes Drive building in favor of a branch that could serve Carrboro.

In his memo, Stancil presented some arguments in favor of branches both downtown and at University Mall.

"A branch near the Chapel Hill/Carrboro boundary ... could serve ... the economic development of the west end of Franklin and Rosemary Streets ... improve service to the Pine Knolls and Northside neighborhoods [and provide] easier access by pedestrians, bicyclists and riders on public transportation," Stancil wrote.

Town staff have considering leasing space at University Mall while the current library is under construction. "A permanent branch in that location could meet sustainable community goals as well," Stancil wrote.

Stancil's memo did not address whether, in the branch scenario, the mall location would replace the current main library. Efforts to reach him this afternoon were unsuccessful. The town does have other facility needs, for police and parks operations, for example, that might be served by the current library building.

If the Town Council agrees, Stancil plans to meet with Clifton and report back on April 26 on a potential partnership with Orange County on funding any new facilities and operations.

"Given that information, you could make a more informed decision on the provision of services and the method of paying for them," Stancil wrote.

County leaders have tentatively agreed to increase their funding for the library's operational costs. They currently contribute $250,000 a year, about 11 percent of the town's library budget, while non-Chapel Hill county residents borrow 40 percent of the library's materials.

Next week, the Orange County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for another Assembly of Governments meeting with the Carrboro Aldermen and the Chapel Hill Town Council. Last time around, former Mayor Kevin Foy and Town Council members berated commissioners for not increasing the county's share of funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library.

Commissioners want no part of that next Thursday. They voted Tuesday directing County Manager Frank Clifton to negotiate with town management to set the new contribution level.

"There's some emotion attached to this issue, and it'll be resolved quicker with negotiations by the manager," said Commissioner Mike Nelson.

CORRECTED VERSION: The Town Council on Monday will consider moving forward with a $16-million expansion of the Chapel Hill Public Library.

The town has already borrowed and spent about $2 million planning the project, and the council must decide whether to borrow another $14.23 million approved by the voters in 2003. The project would more than double the size of the current library, to more than 60,000 square feet.

Town Manager Roger Stancil says the town's budget for debt service can accommodate the new borrowing, but operating the larger facility will add about 1.3 cents per $100 of valuation to the tax rate once it opens in 2012, meaning additional taxes of about $40 on a year on a $300,000 house.

"The increased ongoing operating costs are significant and will present real challenges as the town's budgets for upcoming years are developed," Stancil wrote in a memo to the council.

UPDATE: I made a decimal point error on the original version of this post. The additional cost on an average home will be about $39 a year, not $390. Sorry for the confusion. See Sunday's Chapel Hill News for more.

After years of pressure from the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Orange County commissioners acknowledge that county residents aren't paying their fair share to fund the town library that serves them. County Manager Frank Clifton suggested a potential doubling of the county's contribution toward operating expenses, which would tally about $500,000, approximately 22 percent of the library's annual cost. Clifton will work with Town staff to bring back a specific proposal by the end of January, but it's not likely to include a county capital contribution to the town's $16 million library expansion plan.

"We just don't have that flexibility," Commissioner Mike Nelson told the Assembly of Governments, which brought together elected officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the county tonight. "I don't want anybody to leave the room with false hope."

About 40 percent of registered patrons at the Chapel Hill Public Library live in Carrboro or other parts of Orange County outside Chapel Hill. 

"This is just more of the same," said Town Council member Jim Ward. "It has been the same discussion for the better part of two decades."

His colleague Matt Czajkowski said the town may need to start charging non-Chapel Hill residents $100 a year in order to offset the costs of serving them. 

"That's the decision we're going to have to make if we're going to decide to go forward with the expansion this spring," he said.