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Shaw: Let's move books By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- With the passage of a library bond measure, Mayor Cathy Shaw envisioned the next community effort: a line of people moving books hand-to-hand from the library to the Hillah Temple where the tomes will be stored during library remodeling and expansion. "We need to move them so they don't have to spend another winter in that damp place," Shaw said Tuesday. "If we can get 100 citizens to line the street from the library to the Hillah, we can do a book pass." Tuesday, Ashland voters passed the library bond, 3,540 to 1,824 votes. A more controversial fire station bond measure passed 3,555 to 1,782 in partial, unofficial results. Before any remodeling begins, designs for the projects will be subject to public hearings and city approval. The $5.96 million library renovation will include adding a public meeting room, an expanded children's library, a young adult section, computer labs, a larger adult reading area, a reading terrace and increased circulation storage. It adds about 16,700 square feet to the existing library for a total of 23,000 square feet. The number of parking spaces will double. The $3.14 million fire station project will add 13,000 square feet to the fire station at Siskiyou Boulevard and East Main Street. That will require the city to buy the Blue Mountain Cafe next door. The property owner has expressed a willingness to sell. But throughout the campaign, the business owner -- who leases the building -- has expressed concern about finding a new location. Although Blue Mountain owner David Frye did not marshal a coordinated campaign to defeat the measure, patrons of Blue Mountain put bumper stickers and signs on their cars saying "Save Blue Mountain." Frye said Tuesday he's been emotionally drained by the ups and downs of the race. Despite the outcome, he says he's grateful for the support he's gotten from the community. "It's wonderful to know we are highly regarded," he said. A number of Blue Mountain supporters didn't turn in their ballots in hopes that the measure wouldn't attract the magic 50 percent, he said. The law requires that a measure win not only a majority of the vote, but that at least 50 percent of registered voters turn in their ballots. Library campaign organizers always considered getting 50 percent of the ballots their biggest challenge. Since passage of the requirement in November 1996, only four money measures have passed in Jackson County. Two of those were 1997 Ashland measures: an emergency flood bond and a youth activities levy. Barbara Ryberg, who co-chaired the library bond committee with Shaw, credited Shaw and an enthusiastic group of about 130 volunteers with the win. The army of volunteers -- which included firefighters and their supporters -- called Ashland residents who hadn't voted and went to people's homes to pick up ballots. "It couldn't have happened without Cathy," Ryberg said. "She has shepherded this through since the beginning when we got our approval from City Council. "Even if we had her book at our elbow, we couldn't have done this as smoothly." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA