ARLINGTON — If you haven’t mailed it back already, you can turn in your ballot this week at the library.
Voters in the Arlington School District east of I-5 and south to 164th Street NE are being asked to decide whether they want a new library. The May 20 ballot, which was mailed out to voters, can be dropped off at a collection station from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Monday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Arlington Library, 135 Washington Ave.
The ballot seeks approval to form a taxing district and issue $8.8 million in bonds to fund construction and other start-up costs. The cost to homeowners will be about 14 cents per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The owner of a $300,000 house would pay $42 a year. The bond issue would be paid back through property taxes collected over 20 years, beginning in 2009.
This will be the third time since 2000 that voters have been asked to decide the future of the library. In 2006, voters rejected an $8.1 million bond for a new library. The measure fell 28 votes short of the required 60 percent supermajority.
The Citizens Committee for a New Arlington Library maintains that the majority who voted yes last time deserve another chance to voice their desire for a new library.
To fund the library, voters must first agree to form a special taxing district, which generally includes the city of Arlington and the Arlington School District. This measure must pass by simple majority. The second ballot measure asks voters to decide if they want to fund a new library through a bond issue. This must pass by at least a 60 percent majority.
The city has committed to providing a site across the street from the current library. The proposed library would be about 20,000 square feet and contain more computers, books and audio-visual items. The current library is 5,200 square feet and would become a community center available for meetings and events.
Arlington’s library is about 27 years old. The city’s population has more than quadrupled to nearly 17,000 since the library was built, said Mary Kelly, with Sno-Isle Libraries.
The demand for services can’t be met at the current location, she said.
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
