Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-27-2007 regular agenda — reading text

auditorium is something the Council should think about. He said it would not be a big tax source but if the City owned an art museum to complete its cultural appearance, he could find an organization willing to help staff it in the Arts and Design Society of Fort Wa1ton Beach. He proposed Council think about using the site not as a library but as a museum.  u. 182 Council Workshop 2- 13- 07 LIBRARY LOCATION cont. Millie 316 Sudduth Circle, expressed her thought that the timing is not good to move the Thrush,. library; however, if it ever comes to building a new library, Council needs to look at the property on the east side of Eglin Parkway between First Street and Fourth Street where there is a lot of land that needs redevelopment. She did think the City needs an Arts Gallery downtown as they do need something downtown that will draw people, which was the original idea of placing the library downtown. She said they want to enhance the downtown and the next location should be in the downtown area. Charlene Greenwald, 206 Jet Drive, read into the record a letter dated February 12, 2007 addressed to. the Mayor and City Council in support of the idea of relocating the library: As shop keepers in the library lobby, members of the Friends of the Fort Walton Beach Library hear patrons concerns and experience the issues that swirl around our public library. Major concerns are: Accessibility Patrons cite the location as difficult to get to, out of the way. For example, westbound driVers intending to use either First or Eglin need tobe braking through the Eglin/ Florida Place intersection rather than accelerating as the light is followed within feet by a stop sign. Not close to neighborhoods except immediate dovvntown condo community. Parking Insufficient spaces available except at night when patronage of the library is low probably due to safety & accessibility concerns. Any special occurrence at the library, a small. meeting, a large meeting, city training, children' s reading hour. etc., causes a parking overflow. That' s even when Snowbirds are not in residence; when they are a full parking lot starts just about from 9 am opening. While additional parking is available off Ferry, patrons view off site accessibility as a major inconvenience and are quite vocal about the ' parking Access to the library using the situation.' Ferry lot is either round- about using sidewalks or hiking the shorter path over uneven, rocky & dirt property, then around the retention feature landscaped by tall ornamental grass and inhabited by feral cats. During construction to insure parking met code requirements, spaces were designed to meet bare minimum standards resulting in short, narrow design and minimal maneuvering open area. Parking and navigation ofthe compact lot in general, are a challenge for everyone, especially those with big vehicles, as.the tire marked, sharply banked, U shaped round- about curb will attest to. Reports of vehicle dings, scratches and incidents are common. Design The long walk from the parking lot to the front door is a frequent source of complaints, particularly seniors. The strain is sometimes visible in body language. Loss of some patronage might be attributed to this favor. Inside, the long, narrow design limits staff' s ability to monitor activities & the check out counter does not face the door with the same limitations. Electricity costs are high. At the end of January, electricity was at 44% of budget for the year! Safety Concerns that children cannot safely access the library using bikes or even walking has been expressed. There are general concern about personal safety especially so at night probably explaining low evening patronage. Utilization It is said patrons have quit using the library because of difficult accessibility, lack of adequate parking and problems associated with the shelter seeker' s constant presence. This in turn may be causing the library to be 'underutilized, thus, sharing in less of the cooperative money pie distributed according to patronage. Ascetics The absence of available ground to provide an ascetically pleasing environment is a loss for the community. . Other than City Hall, the library is the single most important municipal building and should add to the identification of the city. The design should be handsome, the setting beautiful.  Council Workshop' 2- 13- 07 183 CITY LIBRARY cont. Instead, the city' s library is hidden behind a wall that attempts to disguise a calWash. In fact, the library entrance is exactly in front of the carwash machines. ' Attempts to disguise' is a carefully worded description because there is no way to ignore the sounds of machinery at work, car radios blasting and water mist disbursed by the wind. Those distractions are inescapable consequences of location. " Friends membership has experienced concerns with all of the foregoing. Behavior problems such as aggressiveness, overt staringlinappropriate comments; non- conformance to rules and acceptable social standards create a strained atmosphere between library patrons and shelter seekers. 1 I For a library to be the focus of on going controversy detracts from its mission to provide citizens with top notch service and, so. unanimously to support during Councilman the regular monthly Friends meeting February 12, members voted Tucker' s proposal to explore the relocation of the library to a more user friendly location. Respectfully submitted on behalf of Friends, Charlene Greenwald, President" to do at this Mr. Minich commented it is only a five year old building and it did not seem to be the thing point in time. . . stated In response to the question on the cost of construction for the library, the City Manager. construction was $ 3. 1 million and the property cost approximately $ 168, 000. Dr. Pullen added that a library should be built where people have access to it and thought there was a to it, and the public does not have State law that they have to build a library where public has access access to the present location. US 98 TRAFFIC CONGESTION IMPROVEMENTS Update regarding US 98 traffic congestion improvements. the Regional The Public Works Director recalled that in June 2006 Council discussed a letter from location. He said Transportation Authority (RTA) requesting Council' s selection of a proposed bridge the feedback to RTA was not to select or approve a bridge location at that time, but seek other means He will give an to decrease the traffic delays, improve safety and reduce the traffic congestion. the Florida Department of update on three traffic congestion improvements on Highway 98 which Transportation has approved. was to eliminate the The PLiblic Works Director reported the U. S. 98/ Ferry Road intersection objective in, access only. He left- turn movements at the intersection and make FerrY Road a right- righto- ut explained that would decrease traffic delays caused by left-turning vehicles. He reported the U. S. and make it a right- in, 98fMunicipal Parking lot objective was to also eliminate the left-turn movements is a safety issue to make the right- out access only. He reported the U. S. 98 at Florida Place objective the stop bar further east to open up the radius for a more smooth turning intersection safer by moving installed movement for the southbound traffic turning east. He mentioned that the State contractor the vertical bollards before getting confirmation from the City to proceed.. The Public Works Director reported he met with the Chamber of Commerce and lot a of concern and out left turns are already opposition was expressed on eliminating any of the left-turns. He pointed lines which has the same prohibited at the municipal parKing lot because of the double solid yellow effect of a raised median in a physical He noted there are two issues on that roadway, one roadway. is moving traffic and one is accessing property. the left-turn The question was asked if there had been any input from the public against eliminating to the businesses at the Chamber movement. The Public Works Director replied it was brought up meeting to make them aware of the improvements and there was a lot of concern and opposition expressed to terminating the lefMurns.  n.' 184 Council Workshop 2- 13- 07 US 98 TRAFFIC CONGESTION IMpROVEMENTS cont. The question was asked if there were any public participants at the Chamber meeting who did not own a business who