Renew The Library

ALICIA ROBINSON, August 13, 2009

Riverside to seek public input, money on museum, library

Riverside residents will be able to share their 2 cents on plans to expand the city's Metropolitan Museum and rebuild the downtown library, and then they'll likely be asked to chip in even more.

The city is moving forward with designs for the two projects, after the council on Tuesday voted to spend about $612,000 more on design and environmental services.

That money will buy an environmental study of tearing down the library and several plans for library and museum facilities that the public will help evaluate. City officials expect to then ask voters to support a parcel tax or some other means to pay for the bulk of $70 million to $80 million in improvements to the library, museum and municipal auditorium.

Tuesday's design contracts with Pfeiffer Partners and Drisko Studio Architects, which are adjustments to earlier agreements, and a contract for environmental studies with Albert A. Webb Associates, bring the total spent on library and museum renovation to about $862,000.

The roughly $250,000 already spent went for preliminary studies that Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner said can still be used. But the project was slowed when city officials proposed a combined facility -- an expanded library with museum exhibit space -- that was lambasted by residents and then scrapped in early 2008.

"Library fans felt the museum got too much of (the space), museum fans felt the library got too much of it," Gardner said Wednesday in a phone interview. "Each felt their facilities were of equal importance."

A task force concluded that separate library and museum expansions would best meet the facilities' and the public's needs, and the council concurred earlier this year.

Council members have asked that the community be involved in the design process, which may help them to avoid the displeasure heaped on the joint facility.

"It will certainly involve multiple designs, probably multiple models, some way for the community to participate not only in the design of those (facilities) but also in the evaluation of what's best for our community," City Manager Brad Hudson told the council Tuesday.

The plans so far call for a new 100,000-square-foot library on the current site and a two- or three-story museum expansion of 18,000 to 27,000 square feet.

With draft designs, public vetting and final drawings still to be done, Gardner said he doesn't expect construction to start before 2012. In the meantime, work to make the museum earthquake-safe and fix its leaky roof will be fast-tracked, along with similar safety improvements to the municipal auditorium.

"We're really pleased that they're going to go ahead with the retrofit. It's long, long overdue and it's a grave concern that someone could actually be hurt" if an earthquake or other disaster caused the museum building to fail, said Bonnita Farmer, the chairwoman of the museum's board of directors.

City officials expect to put in about $25 million of the projected $80 million for the projects, but they still have to figure out where the money will come from. Gardner said it could be a variety of sources, including redevelopment dollars.

The council has discussed asking residents to approve bonds or some other funding source to cover the rest -- $55 million -- which could be repaid with a tax of $40 to $45 a year on properties.

Reach Alicia Robinson at 951-368-9461 or arobinson@PE.com.


ALICIA ROBINSON, August 13, 2009 Riverside to seek public input, money on museum, library Riverside residents will be able to share their 2 cents on plans to expand the city's Metropolitan Museum and rebuild the downtown library, and then they'll likely be asked to chip in even more. The city is moving forward with designs for the two projects, after the council on Tuesday voted to spend about $612,000 more on design and environmental services. That money will buy an environmental study of tearing down the library and several plans for library and museum facilities that the public will help evaluate. City officials expect to then ask voters to support a parcel tax or some other means to pay for the bulk of $70 million to $80 million in improvements to the library, museum and municipal auditorium. Tuesday's design contracts with Pfeiffer Partners and Drisko Studio Architects, which are adjustments to earlier agreements, and a contract for environmental studies with Albert A. Webb Associates, bring the total spent on library and museum renovation to about $862,000. The roughly $250,000 already spent went for preliminary studies that Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner said can still be used. But the project was slowed when city officials proposed a combined facility -- an expanded library with museum exhibit space -- that was lambasted by residents and then scrapped in early 2008. "Library fans felt the museum got too much of (the space), museum fans felt the library got too much of it," Gardner said Wednesday in a phone interview. "Each felt their facilities were of equal importance." A task force concluded that separate library and museum expansions would best meet the facilities' and the public's needs, and the council concurred earlier this year. Council members have asked that the community be involved in the design process, which may help them to avoid the displeasure heaped on the joint facility. "It will certainly involve multiple designs, probably multiple models, some way for the community to participate not only in the design of those (facilities) but also in the evaluation of what's best for our community," City Manager Brad Hudson told the council Tuesday. The plans so far call for a new 100,000-square-foot library on the current site and a two- or three-story museum expansion of 18,000 to 27,000 square feet. With draft designs, public vetting and final drawings still to be done, Gardner said he doesn't expect construction to start before 2012. In the meantime, work to make the museum earthquake-safe and fix its leaky roof will be fast-tracked, along with similar safety improvements to the municipal auditorium. "We're really pleased that they're going to go ahead with the retrofit. It's long, long overdue and it's a grave concern that someone could actually be hurt" if an earthquake or other disaster caused the museum building to fail, said Bonnita Farmer, the chairwoman of the museum's board of directors. City officials expect to put in about $25 million of the projected $80 million for the projects, but they still have to figure out where the money will come from. Gardner said it could be a variety of sources, including redevelopment dollars. The council has discussed asking residents to approve bonds or some other funding source to cover the rest -- $55 million -- which could be repaid with a tax of $40 to $45 a year on properties. Reach Alicia Robinson at 951-368-9461 or arobinson@PE.com.