published: Friday, September 05, 2008

Clermont library hours discussed

ROXANNE BROWN

Staff Writer

CLERMONT -- Some people want to keep the downtown library open for at least three months after its scheduled closing date next summer.

City Council members next week will start finalizing their budget for 2008-09, a spending plan that may see that a library remains downtown. The proposed budget includes $280,000 for a start-up fund and $278,000 in operating costs for three months for the library.

The Cooper Memorial Library, which is now downtown, is scheduled to move to its new location at Lake-Sumter Community College in June or July 2009 when the 50,000 square-foot joint use library is finished. It's supposed to take on the "Cooper" name in one form or another.

A handful of local residents, including most council members, are lobbying for a downtown library, even though the county can't give it any money.

Those in favor of the downtown library say it would focus mainly around children's and recreational reading sections.

"The council felt it was important to have a library downtown," city Administrative Services Director Joe Van Zile said.

Van Zile said the plan includes a possible takeover of the 7,000-square-foot temporary building on Minneola Street where the Cooper Memorial Library is housed.

The children and teens' sections at the new joint-use library at the college will make up 5,200 square feet, in addition to a separate room for story times, according to officials.

"I think it's important to try and have a library in place before Cooper actually closes so that we can maintain its presence downtown," Mayor Hal Turville said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll lose patrons in a transition."

Even then, the city will decide whether it wants to be in the library business or not.

"If we're (city) going to stay in the (library) business, there would have to be revenue and an adjustment of $500,000 to $600,000 for the following year," Van Zile said.

Longtime Clermont resident Ann Dupee said she plans to speak against the issue because she thinks the money could be better spent on other things.

"It seems to me that they (council members) need to consider doing things that would benefit the city more," Dupee said. "I would like to see the city consider things such as a paw park and a skate park."

Dupee said she'd also like to see the city reopen the Jaycee Beach along Lake Minneola and fix Bishop's field for the Mavericks baseball team.

Turville said keeping a library downtown is more than just a preference because Cooper is reportedly one of the busiest libraries in Lake County.

Tom Merchant, Lake County assistant director for public service, said Cooper's circulation averages between 30,000 and 38,000 per month.

The door count of people who come into the library, he said, is between 3,500 to 4,500 per week.

Turville said taking those people out of the downtown equation would be detrimental to downtown traffic and could in turn, affect other businesses there.

"The library right now represents 30,000 people and from an economic perspective, the loss of it would have an undeniable impact on downtown," Turville said. "There are issues to consider, but I think the consensus amongst the council and many residents is to have a library downtown."

"The least we could do is keep it open until we gauge its usage after the opening of the joint-use branch," he said.

For those interested in hearing more, the city's first budget public hearing will be Sept. 11. The final hearing will follow on Sept. 18, both beginning at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 685 W. Montrose St., in Clermont.