Eric Grebliunas from Ratio Architects of Denver presented the firm’s detailed conceptual design of the expanded and renovated Carnegie Library at the Tuesday, Nov. 2, City Council meeting. Mary Pulvermacher of the Preserve and Protect Our Carnegie Library Task Force introduced Grebliunas and called the design “functional, beautiful and accessible.”
Both Pulvermacher and Grebliunas praised the public’s involvement in the design process.
In response to Councilor John Shada’s question, Grebliunas said that there will be at least one more public meeting after input from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Open Space Advisory Committee. Input from the Historic Preservation Commission will also be obtained.
Shada was also assured that the design presented Tuesday was “conceptual” and not final.
Grebliunas told Council that the design’s two main goals were to “assure that the existing Carnegie Library is celebrated and remains the prominent feature on the site,” and to preserve as much of the park space as possible.
Earlier designs had consumed as much as 1,600 square feet of the park, while the design submitted Tuesday removes only 450 square feet of the park, Grebliunas said. The historic view of the library from Manitou Avenue will be preserved.
The design’s most imposing feature is a new second story on the building’s west side. Most of this addition will be built into the hillside with a roof serving as a multi-use patio, allowing more uses than is true of the former park space beneath it.
This 450-square-foot addition will allow a new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant entrance to the library without requiring a new roadway. Only two trees will be removed, both described as “old and diseased” and near the end of their lives.
The renovation is expected to cost $3.4 million, with a fundraising campaign planned. This plan will be presented to Council on Jan. 11, 2022, Pulvermacher said. Tuesday’s approval was only for the conceptual design and did not involve city finances.
Councilor Julie Wolfe asked how much rent the Pikes Peak Library District would pay for use of the building. PPLD Chief Librarian and CEO John Spears answered that “this is a conversation we need to have with the city.” Wolfe said that she could not approve the project without this information and without more community meetings.
Several Manitou residents addressed council about the library.
Jean Garrity, whose grandfather, she said, wrote the original grant for the Carnegie library, said that she hoped the new design would not be a “divorce” from the original building and that the old upstairs would continue as a reading room and a multipurpose space.
Tina Riesterer wanted the building’s old and new portions to be discernible from inside and out, as specified by the Department of the Interior. Mary Kelley asked that there be a public tour of the existing building and that as much of the original structure as possible be retained.
Theresa Kledzik also asked for more public meetings, live and not online as the previous meeting had been. She said that in-person public meetings would help promote the new library.
Kledzik also said that she had expected there to be modifications based on the earlier meeting and that there were none. Marcy Morrison, an active participant in the process and a former Manitou mayor, asked if there would ever be a “perfect” design.
Morrison added that the architect had addressed most issues that were raised and that delays would mean that the eventual library would lose young people and those who would benefit from ADA compliance. Linda Morlan agreed with Morrison and said that there will be some needed changes but that “it’s time to act.”
The conceptual design was approved by a vote of 6 to 1, with Wolfe in opposition.
Council narrowly approved the creation of a Parking and Mobility Enterprise Fund Tuesday. Parking revenue is now placed in the General Fund. The new fund would place parking revenue in a fund that can be spent for enterprise purposes only.
Some councilors expressed that the parking revenue could be better spent. Shada felt that the parking revenue should be used to repay the money already spent on parking.
Shada pointed out that three years ago, parking operated at a 20 percent deficit and that creating an enterprise now was premature. Shada said that the fund was “lazy management” and that he was “totally opposed” to it.
Councilor Judith Chandler felt that “there might be a time when we need those funds.”
Councilor Natalie Johnson felt that money in the enterprise fund would protect that amount of money in the general fund, and Mayor John Graham agreed.
Enterprise funds can issue bonds to raise money without going to a public vote. Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Fortuin said that this flexibility could be useful. Creating an enterprise fund would demonstrate that the city considers parking and mobility to be high priorities, Fortuin said.
City Attorney Jeff Parker said that an enterprise fund could be eliminated in the future and that the money would then go into the General Fund. He also said that street repair was an allowable use of a Parking and Mobility Enterprise Fund.
The Parking and Mobility Enterprise Fund was approved, 4 to 3, with Shada, Chandler and Wolfe in opposition.
Council also approved a revised resolution for using the original historically significant portions of the Hiawatha Gardens building, which, after newer portions were demolished, proved to be only the ballroom. Creating a mobility hub and community center will require new construction.
The Hiawatha Gardens Task Force will remain in place until City Council approves new construction plans. The vote was 6-1, with Wolfe in opposition.
Graham announced that the fire department will host a public meeting concerning the department’s training facility 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, in City Hall. An effort will be made to notify citizens who have addressed this issue.
Council unanimously approved the new Employee Handbook and it will go into effect Dec. 1. Council accepted Chandler’s proposed revision, which will require city employees to read it.
Manitou resident Ross Wagle addressed council during the Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items portion of the agenda to ask if there was a metric, or numerically determined point, at which the mask mandate would be rescinded. He also quoted from a Newsweek article that challenged many of the reasons for COVID-19 restrictions among children and teachers.
Council is not required to reply to these public comments and did not do so Tuesday.
Wolfe told council that citizens have complained that GFL Environmental often misses its assigned trash pick-up days. This requires citizens to drag their trash cans back to safety from bears and drag them back to the street the next day.