Logan Mayor Holly Daines is urging city council members to approve a nearly $1 million appropriation for a new library project.
LOGAN – The members of the Logan City Council are weighing a nearly $1 million investment in the construction of a new multi-story city library.
During a workshop session Tuesday evening, Mayor Holly Daines suggested that the $999,990 appropriation was necessary to get the ball rolling on the proposed $16 million facility in the 300 North Block of Main Street.
Daines said those funds would cover design work, architectural drawings, landscape planning and other preliminary work for the construction project, which calls for demolishing the existing library and rebuilding on the same site along Main St.
City officials and members of the Logan Library Board endorsed the plan developed by project partner Design West Architects at a city council meeting on Aug. 18. That proposal calls for construction of a three story library structure oriented primarily along Main St., stretching south from the corner of 300 North St.
Daines added that construction of the new structure on the site of the current library would contribute to ongoing downtown revitalization efforts and save an estimated $1 million in property acquisition costs.
The project’s estimated $16 million cost was developed, according to Kent Craven of Design West, through analysis of expenses associated with two recently constructed libraries in the communities of Kearns and Daybreak.
Daines said the proposed $1 million appropriation would fund the project’s preliminary work through August of 2021. At that time, the city administration would be ready to ask the City Council to increase the library portion of residents’ property taxes.
City Finance Director Richard Anderson has estimated that the tax increase for the proposed library project would be $16.94 per year on the average home in Logan with a property value of $281,100.
As usual, a public hearing on the library project will be scheduled prior to a final vote by city council members on the proposed $1 million appropriation.