Pace Library meeting room on schedule

Pace Library manager Terri Urquhart stands in the corner of the library the staff uses as a makeshift meeting room. [FILE PHOTO]

PACE — Gwen Wilson, the county's library director, recently received good news from county commissioners.

Plans for the Pace library's meeting room addition are on schedule, and construction should start by this fall.

"The project is progressing as scheduled," said County Administrator Dan Schebler. Schebler. "The (architecture and engineering) firm is working on the design of the project now.

"Anticipated timeline for design, permitting and bidding of the construction is approximately six months."

Wilson anticipates library use will increase when the room becomes available for public use.

"For Pace, it means room to expand their programs," said Wilson. "We are very excited about the new addition."

The original library plans in 2007 called for a meeting room, but rising construction costs prompted the county to remove the meeting room from the original construction, said Tom Twarkins, president of the Friends of the Pace Library group.

Twarkins said the friends group has collected funds throughout the years from book and bake sales. Those funds in the amount of $20,000 will be given to the Pace Library to supplement the Local Option Sales Tax amount of $300,000 approved by commissioners for the meeting room addition.

According to the county website, the half-cent LOST provides an additional funding stream for the growing infrastructure while reducing the reliance on property tax. The commission levies the LOST for a period of five years. The authorized usages for LOST funding are restricted to the following areas:

  • Capital equipment
  • Public facilities
  • Public safety
  • Recreation/natural resources
  • Transportation and drainage.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace Library meeting room on schedule