Movement mounts against Winter Park library redevelopment

A movement is growing in Winter Park – and it wants the library to stay put.

Winter Park resident Michael Poole is spearheading a movement alongside other residents against a new library planned for the northwest corner of Marin Luther King Jr. Park.

The proposed facility would consist of a new 50,000-square-foot library and new 8,000-square-foot civic center. The library portion would have a larger space for the library’s collection of books, dedicated computer labs, meeting and studying rooms, quiet spaces and a two-deck, 220-space parking garage.

It all rides on Winter Park residents voting in favor of a $30 million bond referendum on March 15 to pick up the $29.9 million price tag.

The new library project, Poole said, is a misuse of tax payer dollars and demolishes a perfectly good civic center.

“This choice is the most financially irresponsible choice and it’s the most destructive choice of building a new library,” Poole said.

Poole said that the project would cost far more than the estimated $29.9 million sticker price. There’s bond interest and additional operating costs with maintaining landscaping and a new parking garage, he said.

“That cost is going to go up, and [the library is] just ignoring it,” he said.

Mary Gail Coffee, director of community relations at the Winter Park Public Library, said the total cost of the new library including interest over the next 20 years would be around $43 million, adding that anyone who’s ever bought a home or car knows that interest goes without saying. She said the library could see an estimated 7-percent increase in operating costs, but assured that the library is looking to partner with the city to share staffing and is counting on lower overhead costs in the new civic center to offset those additional costs.

“There’s some very good efficiency possibilities there,” Coffee said.

But the movement’s issues with the new library go beyond simply the cost. Residents like Sandy Womble believe the library should remain within the downtown core.

“I see what a good asset it is,” said Womble, adding that a petition to keep the library where it is received 464 signatures in 2014. “It’s a very walkable, pedestrian-friendly area. I’m not in favor of it being moved over near a commercial corridor.”

Poole also argued that despite the footprint not eating into a great deal of park space, the new library would still hurt the character of the park based on its large size.

“The library at MLK Park is like the Carlisle at Central Park…yet that is acceptable?” Poole said.

“If a big building was going to ruin Central Park, then wouldn’t a big building do the same kind of thing to MLK?

Coffee said that constructing a new civic center on the footprint of the existing center allows the project to encroach on as little park space as possible.

The current facility was in need of a facelift anyway, Coffee said.

“The Winter Park civic center is an aging facility with increasing maintenance costs and a declining appeal to users,” Coffee said.

“I believe the opportunity that the City Commission saw was to exercise maximum efficiency in the use of the city’s resources. You can’t put a library, a parking facility and an event center on that site and use so little park while not repositioning the buildings. It can’t be done…. You have to demolish [the civic center].”

Poole said support continues to grow for the movement against the new library, with roughly 100 signs have already been distributed throughout the city telling residents to vote “no” on the referendum.

There’s still at least 300 signs waiting to be passed out, Poole said, and a Facebook page named “Save Our Library WP” currently has 31 likes. That is compared to 301 likes on a Facebook page called “Vote For Winter Park Library - Parking - Events Center.”

Poole said he is in favor of the library seeking renovation and expansion of the current building instead, which would cost far less than a new facility. That money could also be used toward other city endeavors, such as revitalizing the city’s tree canopy or cleaning up lakes, he said.

A basic renovation to the library however – including additional parking, new elevators and staircases, new furnishings and new equipment – would cost between $12 and $13 million, according to the library’s website. With larger issues regarding space and flexibility inside the library, it’s better to simply build an entire new facility, Coffee said.

At this point, Poole said, the library is too caught up in the excitement over a new building to slow down and think decisions through.

“The momentum has built in such a fashion that they don’t know how to stop it when confronted with the realities of the most destructive, fiscally irresponsible choice they’ve made,” Poole said.

“They’re all good people, but they’ve drank the Kool-Aid. They can’t step back.”