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Rewrite for library plan? Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming The park beside the Carnegie library in Ashland has become a focal point for those who oppose the $5.96 million expansion plan because it involves the removal of several trees and shrubs. According to Barbara Ryberg of the Friends of the Ashland Library, the park is an unplanned assortment of Christmas trees planted by librarians over the years and remnants from the yards of homes that used to sit on the site. "Ashland library park is not wilderness," Ryberg says. "It�s city property. " Too-high bids put Ashland project on hold as protesters play catch-up By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � For almost two years, a proposed renovation and expansion of the 1912 Carnegie library flew under the public�s radar. At least, that�s the way critics see it. In recent weeks, however, a loose coalition of opponents have teamed up to put the $5.96 million project on hold. One man is leading a last-ditch initiative effort to stop the project, while another is holding a treetop protest from a cedar on the library lawn. Leading the effort is Bob Taber, who plans to begin circulating a petition Friday to place an initiative on the March 13 ballot to amend city code to prohibit cutting trees on the library property unless they�re dead, dying or dangerous. Like others who now oppose the project, he believes citizens didn�t understand the plan for the 17,000-square-foot addition when they twice voted to approve its funding. "We�re concerned about the trees, but a far more important aspect of this whole drive is to return the process to the people because we were deprived of all the information," Taber says. For now the project is in limbo, because construction bids came in Monday about $600,000 more than the $4.1 million construction budget. As a result, the project�s architects in Portland are evaluating the bids and the budget to come up with cost-saving alternative materials and systems. Despite the delay, city leaders who helped baby-step the project through the planning process accuse critics of second-guessing the project too late. Information was always available, they say, and public opinion was sought. Moreover, they point out that voters approved the project � twice. "This is a democracy," says Mayor Cathy Shaw. "Those who venture into the process are those who get counted." � � � Ashland residents first voted on the issue in November 1999, when a 50-percent voter turnout was required for the levy to pass. The library campaign got a 52 percent turnout and the levy passed by 67 percent. "My god, it was 2-to-1," says Barbara Ryberg, president of Friends of the Ashland Library. "You can�t deny that kind of return." Opponents admit the process was there and, for the most part, they didn�t participate until earlier this year. By then, many of the major decisions had already been made. Still, they feel they didn�t get enough information about the project, including why the Carnegie was chosen as the site for the new library in lieu of preserving the trees and providing adequate off-street parking. Taber believes some voters � including himself � didn�t know they were approving plans to cut down more than two dozen shrubs and trees and triple the library�s size without increasing parking. "My attitude, personally, was that I had sufficient blind trust in the elected officials that I could not conceive they would agree to build the library on a site with so many flaws," he says. John Freedom, who ran a failed bid for mayor based largely on the issue, says "simple arithmetic" will show the levy was not approved by a majority of voters, let alone a majority of Ashland residents. The way he sees it, 35 percent of the city�s registered voters � including those who didn�t cast ballots � approved the project. "That�s hardly an overwhelming majority of the people," he argues. He and other opponents also argue that many voters who marked their ballots for the project didn�t know what they were approving. "I think what people did was vote for the money," he says. � � � Supporters of the project counter that opponents aren�t raising new issues. The planning process and both elections, says Shaw, included debate about the library�s location � including talk about trees and parking. The ballot clearly stated the project would be a renovation and expansion. "I�m sorry if John Freedom and Bob Taber weren�t paying attention, but we went through a huge public process on this," she says. "I believe in the democratic process. I have enormous trust in the voters that they know what they want." Shaw and other city leaders admit there are problems associated with expanding the library at its current site, but feel the benefits outweigh the losses. In fact, the Library Improvement Committee explored other sites � including vacant lots, the up-for-auction Mark Antony Hotel and Safeway, which was rumored to leave town � and settled on expanding the Carnegie library in February 1999. Supporters say the expansion preserves the historic tradition of the Carnegie building, one of the few such facilities still operating as a library. Retaining the central site also helps downtown business by pushing pedestrians up from the Plaza. "According to the downtown plan, the library serves as an important anchor, much as the way Penney�s or Mervyn�s serves as an anchor in the mall," Shaw says. The property isn�t large enough to accommodate the addition without something having to give, Ryberg says, adding that most downtown city libraries don�t provide parking lots. The Ashland plan calls for 13 off-street spaces, including two handicap spots. More parking is available on nearby streets and other downtown lots. "We�re not going to have a Costco parking lot, but Ashland wouldn�t want a Costco parking lot," Ryberg says. The library park, Ryberg argues, is an unplanned assortment of Christmas trees planted by librarians over the years and remnants from the yards of homes that used to sit on the site. "Ashland library park is not wilderness," Ryberg says. "It�s city property. The trees are not ancient." � � � Rick Harris has spent the past nine days camped in a one-man tent about 50 feet up a cedar tree. His 4-by-8-foot bivouac is suspended by cable to a century-old ginkgo, one of the trees slated for removal. If it�s cut down, he would fall. "I�m sitting a little higher than 50 feet in the air and there�s a lot more tree up there," Harris says. "Think of how many years it will be before we have trees like this." Harris says he is not an environmentalist and that his protest is as much about saving Ashland�s friendly atmosphere as it is about saving trees. "I want them to refocus, to rethink their values," he says. "Find an alternative so we can have both the library and the park. I want both." Harris says he�s prepared to sit in the cedar at least until Mayor-elect Alan DeBoer takes office Jan. 2. The protesters feel they�ve found a sympathetic ear in DeBoer, who has his own concerns about the project. DeBoer says he doesn�t agree with Harris� civil disobedience, but agrees that the project could use another look. "I had no idea that we would only have 10 parking spaces and that the scope of the project was so big in proportion to the lot," he says. "I wish I could go to him and say, �Get down out of the tree and trust me that we�re going to put this process where it should be.� " DeBoer says the high bids and the resulting delay present a perfect opportunity to re-evaluate the plans. He also questions whether construction should begin before June or July. "To sit and take a breath here," he says, "is not a bad thing." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.