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Donors could restore some amenities Fund-raising efforts will work toward raising $1.2 million to put back nice touches for new county library headquarters By MELISSA MARTIN Medford's new library could still have a water fountain and a reading garden if private donors help make up the $1.2 million estimated difference between design and project costs. Fund-raising efforts may put back amenities into the $18 million headquarters library planned for the corner of 10th Street and Central Avenue. Jackson County may seek bids on the project within two months, with construction beginning in May and completion set for 2003. "These items may be funded separately or by donors who want to give money for artwork," said Troy Ainsworth, project manager for Fletcher Farr Ayotte, the Portland architect firm hired by Jackson County. Medford Urban Renewal Agency is expected to approve design changes in the library when the board meets at 7 p.m. today in the Medford City Council chambers. The board also is expected to approve a priority list of projects to add back if construction bids are lower than predicted. Here is the urban renewal agency's priority list of items to add back: 8-inch bricks instead of 12-inch bricks for the two-story building's exterior, granite instead of precast concrete for the building's base, a water fountain and staff deck, larger steel-framed canopies for windows and the loading dock, more plants and shrubs in the landscape and the reading garden. "We would love to see the reading garden but we couldn't justify it if the basic services would have to be sacrificed," Ainsworth said. At $97,000, it is one of the most expensive items on the list. Medford Urban Renewal Agency has design authority for Jackson County's headquarters branch because the library will be built downtown in the agency's jurisdiction. Urban renewal will invest about $1.5 million for a 125-space parking lot, paver sidewalks similar to those across from Rogue Community College, street work and landscape. The agency also gave Jackson County a $355,000 lot. The items cut from the original design will not compromise the building, which is expected to last 100 years and meet the region's needs for the next two decades, library officials said. "It's keeping the same look to the building but using different materials to bring the project in line with the budget," said Jackson County Library Director Ronnie Budge. The library will have a coffee shop, bookstore, spacious lobby, computer lab, meeting rooms, classrooms and study areas. Rogue Community College will share it with the public, Ainsworth said. "We think it will be a nice addition to the city on the outside and we think people will like the interior," Ainsworth said. The reason for the $1.2 million in design cuts is partly because the library's master plan created in 1999 by a 12-member committee was sketched using the dimensions of a smaller lot across the street from the current site. The larger lot on 10th and Central required more landscaping, he said. But the new site provides better vehicle access to the library, a bigger footprint to allow for a more efficient two-story building instead of a three-story design and proximity to the community college, Budge said. "We've had a team in place working on the design for 16 months," Ainsworth said. "Changes like this are painful, but typical, as we mediate between the desires of the clients and the realities of the marketplace." Jackson County is building a new branch library to replace the 89-year-old Carnegie building at Main and Oakdale. County voters passed a $38.9 million bond in May 2000 for the main library and the remodeling or rebuilding of 14 branches. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail mmartin@mailtribune.com |
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