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Library seeks architect to advance building renovation; trustees ask to expand board from five to seven
Summary
Library Director reported the building assessment and concept design are complete and asked the city to issue an RFP for an architect; the library’s trustees separately requested the council sponsor a charter amendment to increase trustees from five to seven and the council agreed to set up a public‑hearing process.
The library director, Sarah Lesko, told the council on June 16 that the building assessment and concept design are complete and that the library needs an architect and construction drawings to apply for key grants. Lesko said a Kemp Trust gift provides seed funding to proceed to an architect RFP and that missing blueprints caused the library to miss one grant cycle.
At the same meeting, Maureen Perez, a library trustee, asked the council to sponsor a charter amendment to increase the number of library trustees from five to seven. Trustees said two additional seats would spread workload, bring more perspectives and support the upcoming renovation and capital campaign. The council agreed to move ahead with the procedural steps and set a public hearing and schedule for a charter amendment in advance of a future ballot (staff to place sponsorship/public‑hearing item on an upcoming agenda).
Why it matters: The library renovation requires architectural plans to qualify for many state and private grants; expanding the trustees is a governance change the trustees say will help the board manage the capital campaign and expanded programming.
Details and next steps: Lesko said staff will issue an RFP for an architect to produce construction documents for the first two phases of renovation and possibly phase three if a capital campaign covers additional work. Trustees will work with city staff to request council sponsorship and the public hearing dates needed to get a charter amendment on an upcoming ballot (procedural schedules and 60‑day ballot preparation timelines were referenced by staff).
