8 Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 9, 1991

Model Pleases All

Terrace architect Allan Soutar attended three meet- ings Monday night, and everyone seems pleased with

the results. There may even —

be a referendum - next spring.

Soutar’s first meeting was

_ with members of the Terrace Art Association, where he displayed a model and pre- liminary plans for the library expansion project as com-

-missioned'by Terrace city council. Members of that group were pleased because the concept currently under review offers them more space. .

The next stop for Soutar was the Terrace Public Library board of directors. Here again, he offered the model and drawings and the board was generally pleased. It offers the space they require, and the layout con- forms to the recommenda- tions of Bacon Consultants of West Vancouver. .

And for his final presenta- tion of the night, Soutar met with members of the library board and city council to dis- cuss the library expansion project itself.

According to mayor Jack Talstra, city aldermen and library trustees discussed Soutar’s proposal and tossed

around a few ball-park fig- ures. “Basically, it looks good,” says Talstra.

The library would gain space on the main floor, allowing them to increase the size of the office, shelf space and the main recep- tion area. The art gallery

_ would expand into the pre- sent meeting room, and the expanded portion of the basement would become a new meeting room. At the main entrance, Soutar’s pro- posal calls for an elevator, wheelchair ramp to the basement facilities and a stairway.

Speaking on behalf of the library board, George Clark described their meeting with council as a “very, very good meeting”. He adds that a best guess at this point for the cost of the library por- tion of the project has been set at around $1.5 million, -and there would be an addi- tional costs for each of the art gallery and meeting room options. As proposed,

.says Clark, the meeting room would seat between 400 and 500 people.

Talstra says Soutar has been asked to come up with some firm cost estimates and then the job of sorting out the cost of the various options will begin. These options include the art gallery, meeting room, ele- vator, wheelchair ramp and additional washrooms. _

Soutar has been given three weeks to return to council with the appropriate information.

This drawing from 1988 showed the architect's concept of what an expanded version of the Terrace Public Library would look like. Although the library was confident at the time that the issue of expansion would go to referendum within the year, the concept has had to go through updating after a wait of more than three years, and a date for balloting on the local tax portion of the expansion still hasn’t been set.

library board of trustees and the reading.

ARY’S

Plans to expand the Terrace Public Library building were hatched years ago, and starting in November of 1988 both the

public expected a referendum to deal- with the local cost of adding on to the building.

Three years later, they’re still waiting.

This is the story of the efforts to bring the expansion idea to a public vote. It looks like a long story because it is a long story.

November, 1988 — The Terrace Public Library board of directors went pub- lic with architect drawings for their proposed $1 million expansion program. It would happen soon, citizens were assured, and it would serve the community for the next 20 years.

February 22, 1989 — During the library board's annual general meeting, chairman Willy Schneider

“noted that two computer ter-:

minals had replaced the old card catalogue, that an interlibrary computer link had been implemented, and that circulation had increased.

“Qur library in now in its 22nd year,” he said, “and we are beginning to look at the turn of the century.” With that thought in mind, he described the library's future expansion as an “ambitious” plan but added that it was a decision now in the hands of the city.

“We hope that a decision will be reached which will enable us to serve Terrace and the surrounding areas even more effectively in ihe years to come,” he said.

November 22, 1989 — The future of the library expansion project looked

good, according to board

chairman Willy Schneider. He said that members of the board had met with council about three weeks earlier, and although there was still a lot of organizational work to be done, the feeling at that meeting was generally positive. .

Council agreed at it’s Nov. 14 meeting to discuss the library expansion project later in the month when they looked at the economic and planning strategies of the city’s five-year Comprehen- sive Development Plan. The city treasurer was also asked to determine the percentage of rural users at the library. These factors would deter- mine what portion of the project financing would become the responsibility of the city and what portion would become the responsi- bility of other governments.

The project was estimated to be worth about $1 million at this time, and the plan was to split the cost equally among local government, the

_ province and a library fund

raising drive. The board had filed a GO B.C. application and at least one local indus- try had suggested they would be interested in con- tributing in some way.

It was safe, it seemed, to predict a $400,000 referen- dum would take place in the fall of 1990. And if it passed, construction would begin in the spring of 1991.

February 21, 1990 — The idea of a library expansion project had been in the works for some time and the Terrace Review reported

that the city might be going - to referendum in the fall to

determine if it was. some- thing the voters wanted. In

anticipation of this, library.

board chairman Willy Schneider gave the city a

couple of options drafted by

Terrace architect Alan Soutar.

Accurate building esti- mates would be required, said Soutar, and he could come up with a complete set of working drawings in about five months for

around $50,000. ‘Another: —

choice, he said, was a less detailed estimate based on design drawings. This would take about two months and $20,000. Council sent these options to the Mar. 5 meet- ing of the Committee of the Whole...

May 16, 1990 — The issue became _ heated, Library board chairman Willy Schneider was report- ed as saying that the library expansion project is a very “competitive” project. The competition? The recently- hatched community-conven- tion centre concept, some-

thing that Schneider says is “much easier politically to sell”.

“Let’s face it,” he said. “There’s an election coming up and the mayor's job is on the line.”

Schneider made these comments during an address to the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce. He explained that he didn’t think of the community-con- vention centre as a bad idea. He just though it’s potential value was much less than an expanded library facility.

“There’s support for the idea,” he admitted, speaking of the community centre. “But whether it’s justified or not I don’t know.” He point- ed out that, “We don’t have people knocking on the door to hold conventions here,” and asked, “Do we have the infrastructure to support it? Can we house 500 people?”.

Schneider made another - interesting comment during this meeting. The expansion | would solve the problem of the “sitting duck”, the band- shell, he said. Not that he had anything against the bandshell itself... It's just that the city forgot to pro- vide or require that wash- rooms be built for the conve- nience of the public who attend events there. And . their absence was taxing the one existing library wash- room.

Schneider. then told the | chamber that the library board was ready for a fall referendum, and the board was prepared to help the city with the process in any way they could. Whether it meant explaining the need for the expansion to voters, or going out door-to-door and raising the necessary funds to build it.

Gerry Martin, co-owner of Northern Drugs, was one of several chamber members who offered varying degrees of support. “From a business point of view the convention contre is more appealing,”