By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL — The exploration of moving the Chapel Hill Public Library from it’s Pritchard Park location to the spot now occupied by Dillard’s at University Mall ended Monday night before the Chapel Hill Town Council even began debating the idea.
Both Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Town Manager Roger Stancil said in introducing the agenda item that the potential costs savings to the town did not outweigh the risk of moving a building with a public function into a private development. Stancil said University Mall representatives concurred with the decision.
In a letter sent to the town last week, Madison Marquette managing director Jay Lask said that projected savings to the town had dropped from the $3 million to $4 million range to $1.5 million. Lask said that while he still believes a mall location has a number of advantages, it’s understandable that the town would not want to shift its current plan so close to groundbreaking.
At the Valentine’s Day session at Town Hall, the council heard from several residents, some wearing pink hearts to represent their love for the Pritchard Park location, who underscored their view that the town needs to keep the library where it is.
Julie McClintock said the town should honor the Pritchard family’s dream of a library in a park-like setting. The family donated the land for the site.
Several residents praised the council for exploring the idea while agreeing with the decision not to move forward with negotiations with mall management.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce executive director Aaron Nelson said the council’s creativity was rewarded and thanked them for working through the idea.
Council member Gene Pease said going through the discussions will pay off in the future when the next “big idea†comes up.
“I’m glad we explored it,†he said. “I think we learned how to do it better.â€
Asked about next steps, Stancil told the council that he plans to initiate a review of the input received from the community before advancing plans for a move to a temporary location and construction of the new library addition already slated for the Pritchard Park location.
Council member Matt Czajkowski, who brought the Kindle reader owned by his late mother to illustrate his point, encouraged Stancil to consider ways for the town’s library services to better embrace technology.
Kleinschmidt and council member Laurin Easthom encouraged residents to support University Mall. The mall’s future viability was questioned during the process by some of those opposed to the move.
Kleinschmidt said it was one of his regrets about the process.
“Unfortunately, the mall had to take some hits,†he said.
In his letter to the town, Lask said Madison Marquette was committed to making improvements at the mall, including making it possible to host more community and cultural events.
In other action Monday night, the council scheduled a public forum for Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall on the draft Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2012-18 transportation improvement plan, which sets local priorities for transportation projects with the state.
The council also held the first in a series of public forums on the 2011-12 fiscal year budget, which starts on July 1.
Robert Dowling, executive director of the Community Home Trust, warned the council that with new properties coming with the construction of Carrboro’s Ballentine development and Chapel Hill’s 140 West Franklin project, the home trust would likely need a boost in funding for subsidies.
Council member Jim Ward said he was concerned about federal budget cuts to Community Development Block Grants and the impact on town housing programs.
“CDGB [money] is at dire risk this year, not just in Chapel Hill but all around the country,†he said.