12/14/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e utility fee would increase City revenues that he hoped would be dedicated to the support of operating costs of the library (he estimated that half the annual operating costs could be covered in this way). Ms. Schue likened the library lease arrangement to a condominium in which the individual owns the interior and someone else owns the physical shell, but the individual has control of it. Mr. Farkas called this a fair representation but added that eventually the City would also own the shell. Ms. Wooten declared her desire to avoid a situation Monday night in which the council has to determine whether it is right to proceed without having some assurance of a source of operation funds. She revealed her deepest fear as being that a shell will be built (although she expressed doubt that a shell could be built without some basic tenant improvements during the process of construction) and that something will eventually be referred to the voters and rejected numerous times, resulting in the necessity of cutting other programs from the operating budget in order to fund the library. She strongly opposed proceeding without a sense of how the library will be operated and she considered it unfair to enter an agreement without answering questions about operation. She thought there had not been sufficient time for the council's careful consideration of a utility tax to fund the operation of the library. There was consensus to meet at a dinner work session Monday evening before the public hearing. e Mr. Sercombe asked for councilors to communicate to him any obvious questions or suggested alternative language or concerns they would like him to bring back to the public hearing. Ms. Wooten asked if there was council agreement to an elderly low-income exemption if a utility tax is adopted. Mayor Obie responded that Mr. Sercombe could prepare that type of amendment or the council could make a motion that night suggesting such an amendment be brought back, but he considered it too early to suggest there is council agreement. While she said she would ask again Monday night, Ms. Schue said she wanted staff to be prepared to answer questions about the telephone company.s reaction to a utility tax. She said her experience during the last legislative session had led her to have real concerns about what would happen at the legislature involving the telephone company. Mr. Holmer referred to an exemption of the council from the dedication of this tax to the support of the library and asked about the implication of removing that and saying it is not a contract. He said he found that absolutely unacceptable. Answering Ms. Bascom's inquiry, Mayor Obie suggested cancelling the Council Committee on Library Financing meeting scheduled for December 15 and hearing staff's presentation on operation and maintenance at the council's work session December 19. Mr. Gleason pointed out that reducing the sQuare - MINUT~j..~U~~~~ C,t~ CoYn~i' O@c@mb8r 14, 19BB Page 14