A library in Gunbarrel or Niwot?

The pandemic has been a devastating time within our personal lives and within our local and national governmental operations. Now that life is returning to "normal," the Boulder Library Champions, a grassroots group of local volunteers, are interested in making some changes to the way the Boulder public library operates. They're also in need of book donations, in case you're interested in contributing to the group.

On March 8, the Boulder Library Champions held a community meeting at the Left Hand Grange in Niwot to discuss their proposal to form a library district, which would create a separate quasi-municipal entity to fund and operate a regional library. Heatherwood resident David Farnan, long-time director of the Boulder Public Library, and Chris Barge, the Library Foundation CEO, noted that there are 57 library districts in Colorado, including districts in Lyons and Nederland.

After years of study, the City of Boulder is moving forward with a proposal that would bring financial stability to the Boulder library through formation of a library district with a dedicated property tax mill levy, replacing the present system of funding from the city's general tax revenues. Since the proposed library district is in both the City of Boulder and parts of unincorporated Boulder County, both the Boulder City Council and the Boulder County Commissioners would need to adopt resolutions to form a district.

The first goal of the Boulder Library Champions is to re-open the Boulder library to pre-pandemic operations, including restoring all operating hours; restoring the 16 permanent and 50 part-time positions that were cut in 2020; hiring more staff to promote the library's services; restoring staffing for youth and STEM programs and expanding these programs to meet community demand; restoring the Spanish-speaking youth librarian position and developing innovative programming to better serve the Latinx community; reopening BLDG 61 and the NoBo maker space and increasing Maker Space opportunities; restoring the collection budget and doubling the per user books and materials budget; reopening the Carnegie Library for Local History and increasing staffing and hours of operation; reopening the Canyon Theater; resuming in-person programming, and re-opening public meeting rooms.

Their greater ambitions involve forming a library district which would extend beyond the Boulder city limits, and adopting a budget to build, furnish, staff, and operate the new North Boulder library branch as well as creating new branch libraries in Gunbarrel and Niwot.

Barge said, "Niwot generates enough taxes to fund a library. Gunbarrel is probably 30 years overdue [for a library].

Farnan noted that a developer in Gunbarrel had offered 1,000 square feet for a branch library at no cost. He said, "From 1968 to 1969, there was a library in Heatherwood, funded by a grant. When the grant went away, so did the library."

For several years, there has been some debate as to whether a Niwot branch library is a possibility, and if so, whether it should be governed and funded by a Longmont or a Boulder library district. In 2019, a poll was taken in Niwot to see if the residents wanted to be a part of a Longmont or Boulder library district, and the majority chose Boulder, according to Farnan.

Some Niwot residents at the meeting argued that a Longmont library district would be a better pick, because it's closer. However, according to a Patron Locations Within Boulder County map presented by Farnan, there appears to be a large Boulder library cardholder population in Niwot. "We're not in a competition with Longmont," Barge said. "A library is a community gathering place." Farnan indicated that the Boulder County Commissioners were the ones who had suggested adding Niwot to the proposed Boulder district boundaries.

Several members of the Longmont Library District Project attended the meeting, including Scott Converse, Prudence Carter, Maria Karagianis and Gene Hayworth. The Longmont group had considered adding Niwot to its district boundaries, but backed off for the time being as Boulder is further along in the process.

The Boulder Library Champions advocate for the proposed library district because, according to their research, a district will provide stable funding and allow for a new Niwot branch, be governed by a board of trustees with representation from outside the city, and match the user base with the tax base. Thirty percent of current Boulder library cardholders live outside the city, Farnan reported.

The proposed Boulder Public Library District would be funded by a property tax instead of competing with other items in the city's budget for funding from general revenues each year. According to Farnan and Barge, funding for operations will fall short by an estimated $4.5 million every year if sustainable funding is not provided. An additional $2.3 million per year is needed to address a long-standing backlog of maintenance needs in existing library buildings.

The proposed district tax would be $2.16/month or $26/year for every $100,000 of assessed residential value. Commercial property owners would pay considerably more.

A library district attempts to match the funding base to the patron base, creating an equal and shared source of funding, which does not now exist according to library cards attached to residences outside the Boulder city limits. Farnan estimated that property taxes from Niwot residents at the proposed rate would bring in about $425,000 in revenue each year, which would be enough to fund operation of a Niwot branch library.

Most of the 33 persons attending the Left Hand Grange meeting shared their thoughts and concerns about the proposed library district, noting that the RTD Fastracks fiasco had left Niwot residents with years of taxes and none of the promised rail services.

Among other concerns raised by various speakers, including George Epp, Kathy Koehler, Dave Limbach, Pat Murphy, Lisa Rivard, Dave Snow, Chris Teta, and Keith Waters, were that property taxes have increased during the pandemic, as well as inflation generally. Some residents would rather allocate their taxpayer money to repairing their roads instead of paying for a library district. There is still the potential of Niwot joining a Longmont library district, which is only in the planning stages, but there is no way to guarantee Niwot would get a branch library from a district.

Former Niwot Community Association president and Boulder County Planning Commission member Neal Anderson summed up his comments by saying, "Don't get me wrong, I support a library in Niwot," but he noted there were no guarantees about a library in Niwot if a district were formed. He also noted that if Niwot is included in the Boulder library district boundaries, the matter would be decided by voters in the City of Boulder, rather than voters in Niwot, due to the vast differences in populations.

On March 10, the Boulder County Commissioners held a virtual town hall meeting for citizens to share their opinions, in support of or against the formation of a library district, as well as what properties should be included in a district. Kelly Donovan, a working mom, favored a Gunbarrel library branch, as it would be closer to where she lives and a place where she can drop off her kids.

Nicole Perelman loves the Boulder Library, for the storytime activities provided for her child. The Gunbarrel resident believes that the increase in property tax to fund the library will be a lifelong investment by having a positive impact on children, especially when they reach adulthood.

Doug Hamilton, a writer for the Daily Camera who lives in Gunbarrel, spoke in support of the library district, stating that a library district would improve the current library and the branches through renovations, expanded library hours, and the reopening of Carnegie Library and Canyon Theater.

If the Boulder City Council and the Boulder County Commissioners believe there is support for a regional Boulder library district, the next step would be to appoint district trustees, with both the city council and the county commissioners involved in appointing them, which could number from five to seven. Once they are appointed, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) would be worked out between the new district, the city, and the county.

The next step is a vote of residents within the proposed district in August. If the proposed district were to be approved, then the taxation issue would be voted on this coming November. The IGA may allow for more than one election effort if the initial vote fails to pass. The county commissioners are considering allowing two or three rounds of elections if the first vote fails.

Comments concerning the proposed library district may be submitted to the Boulder County Commissioners at commissioners@bouldercounty.org. To participate in the joint Boulder City Council and County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m. visit https://bouldercolorado.gov/events/city-council-meeting-17.