Editorial: Approve ballot measures to build new Lake Stevens Library
Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 2, 2017
By The Herald Editorial Board
Let’s get this argument out of the way, first: The internet is not a replacement for libraries.
Neither is interchangeable with the other. Even with the internet’s seemingly infinite store of information and its ability to connect us with people across the globe, it cannot serve the same purposes of good libraries in our communities.
Libraries are social hubs that help build a community by bringing together diverse populations face to face, serving as a center for literacy, education and the arts, and helping the development of our children by supporting the work of schools.
There is no app for that.
Since its beginnings in 1944 as the Snohomish County Rural Library District, Sno-Isle Libraries has grown into a system of 21 community libraries, online services and its Library on Wheels, serving more than 725,000 residents in Snohomish and Island counties.
The Sno-Isle system has been responsive to the communities it serves, renovating and building new libraries as needed by working with the support of each community.
The need now is sorely felt in Lake Stevens.
Lake Stevens, now with a population or more than 30,000 residents, is among the county’s fastest growing cities, particularly among young families. Yet, Sno-Isle’s library there is the second-smallest in the system and the smallest in Snohomish County.
The 2,400-square-foot facility, smaller than most single-family homes, recorded more than 110,000 visits in 2015. Checkout and renewals of books and other materials have grown from about 18,000 a month at the end of 2013 to more than 25,000 a month as of the end of 2016, sometimes hitting as high as 31,000 items a month.
As Lake Stevens continues to grow — it’s population is expected to hit 47,500 by 2025 — it will need a library that can serve the needs of its residents.
Voters are being asked to approve two measures that will provide the creation of a taxing district as well as a $17 million bond request to fund construction of a new library.
The new library, with 20,000 square feet of space, will allow for a collection of 70,000 books and other media and facilities that include 40 study chairs, 30 computer stations, 20 reading chairs, 10 student tables and a community room.
The current library, which leases a building from the city, is in the North Cove neighborhood, an area that the city has identified for redevelopment.
The new library would be built on land already purchased in the city’s Chapel Hill neighborhood, which the city also is considering for the location of a new city hall.
Lake Stevens voters, within the Lake Stevens School District boundaries, are being asked two questions on ballots that must be returned by mail or to ballot drop boxes by Tuesday, Feb. 14. (Voters should receive the county’s official election pamphlet in the mail soon; many were mistakenly sent the voter’s pamphlet for the Granite Falls School District bond.)
The first would approve the creation of a library capital facility area, with boundaries that mirror those of the school district. Approving the capital facility area, which requires a simple majority, would allow the district to seek bonds for library construction.
The second question asks for voter approval for $17 million in bonds and would require 60 percent approval. The bonds would result in a property tax increase of 24.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For a median priced Lake Stevens home worth $340,000, the annual tax would amount to about $83 a year for the 20-year life of the bond issue.
Neither the value of libraries nor the need in Lake Stevens for a library that can serve its residents can be denied. Voters should approve both measures on the ballot.
