Small library a ‘placeholder’ in budget, La Plata residents told

County likely to revisit capital projects in next fiscal year

The county’s plan to replace the La Plata library branch facility with a building of similar size is a temporary solution designed to ensure the project has a place in the county’s budget projections, though a larger facility will likely require at least some outside funding, county commissioners told residents at Tuesday’s town hall meeting.

Questions about the new library dominated the meeting, which took place at the Charles County Government building in La Plata. Attendance was high due in large part to a social media campaign by

the Charles County Public Library encouraging people to turn out to voice their support for a larger library.

The county’s capital improvement program provides a five-year budget projection for infrastructure projects.

The current CIP, which covers fiscal years 2018 to 2022, proposes to replace the current library, which was built in 1967, with a new 13,000-square-foot facility. The existing building is 12,889 square feet.

La Plata residents have expressed concerns that the existing library lacked adequate program space and meeting rooms, and a new library of the same size would not correct those shortcomings.

“I think it’s important to note that what’s currently in the capital improvement project budget as it relates to the library at 13,000 square feet is really a placeholder in our [CIP] budget,” said Commissioner Ken Robinson (D). “I don’t think any of us here realistically think that we are going to replace the current library with a library of the same size.”

“I think that the Waldorf West library is a good template on what the replacement of the La Plata library should look like,” Robinson added.

Robinson said that the county is only just beginning to get into the “nuts and bolts” of determining the costs of a larger facility.

“I would say that we’re in the embryonic stage of replacing the library in La Plata, but I believe that within the next three or four months, as we get into the fiscal year 2019 budget, it will move much higher in the priority list,” he said.

County administrator Michael Mallinoff said the estimated cost of a 13,000-square-foot replacement library is just over $4 million, while the total cost of a larger library would be $10.1 million.

Mallinoff explained that project budgets in the CIP are determined by estimating the county’s ability to pay off the debt incurred in financing those projects based on growth projections of the county’s tax base.

By hewing closely to those projections, Mallinoff said, the county has been able to maintain its AAA bond ratings, which in turn allows it to borrow money for capital projects at lower interest rates.

“Part of the issue we’re going to have in the upcoming year, and it’s something the commissioners deal with every year, is how to pick and choose which projects they fund,” Mallinoff said.

Acting as emcee, Mallinoff read the questions and comments about the library submitted by county residents.

Of the more than 20 questions that addressed the library issue, several common themes emerged. Residents were concerned about the lack of modern amenities such as sufficient computer terminals, space for childrens’ programming, and meeting rooms for community events.

In addition to funds from the county, the commissioners said they would be investigating other sources of funding including state grants and the proceeds from the sale of the 1.5-acre site where the current library is located.

Only two questions addressed topics unrelated to the library.

Derrick Terry of Waldorf asked the commissioners about the new $7 million animal shelter being proposed to replace the Tri-County Animal Shelter. Commissioners’ President Peter F. Murphy (D) responded that the county had fully intended to stick with the existing shelter until both Calvert and St. Mary’s counties decided to build their own. At that point, he said, the county had the choice of renovating a facility that was inconveniently located, or using roughly the same amount of money to build a modern facility that was more centrally located for the county.

Diana O’Connell asked about delays in completing the extension of Old McDaniel Road in St. Charles to provide access to the Piney Grove neighborhood. The county had originally anticipated that construction would begin three years ago. Planning and growth management director Steve Kaii-Ziegler explained that the delays were due to ongoing efforts to negotiate rights of way with individual property owners.

At the conclusion of the town hall, the commissioners reiterated that the concerns expressed by La Plata residents about the new library would be given their due consideration.

“It may not seem that you have been heard, but you have been heard,” Commissioner Debra Davis (D) said. “Thank you all for being participants. It really helps.”

“There isn’t anybody that sits up here on the Board of County Commissioners that doesn’t agree with all the comments that were made here tonight about the value of libraries, [and] what they bring to this county,” Murphy said, noting that last year the county funded the creation of a mobile library to help meet the needs of residents.

The plan for the 13,000-square-foot library was simply a “marker” in the CIP, Murphy said.

“We needed to start somewhere,” Murphy said. “It’s never been a question about where we may end up, it’s been a question about where do we get started.”

Following the motion to end the town hall meeting, the attendees applauded.