ARLINGTON — It’s like re-reading an old book.
Arlington voters are being asked to decide — once again — whether they want a new library. This will be the third time since 2000 that voters are asked to decide the library’s fate.
Library supporters hope for a new ending this time.
They say the current library is outdated and too small to accommodate the town’s growing neighborhoods.
Since the library was built in 1981, Arlington has grown into a suburban town with housing developments replacing farmland and country roads being paved over and turning into clogged, city streets.
Arlington’s population has more than quadrupled since 1981; from 3,282 to 16,090, according to the latest Census estimate. The library, meanwhile, has stayed the same.
“It’s essential for Arlington,” Mayor Margaret Larson said. “It isn’t that we don’t love our current library, but we’ve outgrown it.”
Sno-Isle Libraries, which runs most libraries in Snohomish and Island counties, and the Arlington City Council decided to put ask the voters in May whether to approve an $8.8 million bond. If approved, the money would fund construction of a new library across the street from the current building. Except for the price tag, which is higher due to rising construction costs, the measure is identical to an $8.1 million bond voters rejected in 2006.
The measure fell short of the 60 percent needed to pass by just 28 votes. It failed with 5,307 voting in favor out of 8,891 total votes.
The bond is estimated to cost homeowners 14 cents per $1,000 of the assessed value of their property. A homeowner with a $300,000 house would pay $42 a year.
While running into the library this week, Alese Minnifield said she doesn’t like the idea of paying more in taxes, but she says she’ll gladly spend the money for a new library. Before she got Internet access at home, Minnifield, 60, would often drive to the Arlington Library to use a computer, only to find them all in use.
If voters approve a bond measure, Sno-Isle Libraries would supply more computers, DVDs and books.
To Minnifield, computers — along with more meeting rooms and spacious aisles — makes the bond amount seem reasonable.
“To me, a library’s worth it,” she said.
The Arlington City Council unanimously passed a measure supporting the bond issue. As was true during the previous two campaigns, no opposition groups have formed.
If the bond passes, Larson said the city would find another use for the current library, a unique underground building with flowerbeds sloping over its walls and classic wooden beams reaching across the ceiling inside. The building would likely be used for meeting space.
“I raised my children in a library,” the mayor said. “I sat on the floor and read to them from library books. It’s part of a whole community. … I can’t imagine a town without a library.”
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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