It’s about time. Thank you everyone for all of your hard work.
From our Supervisor, Ann Mallek:
As I get ready for dinner, please help to share my thanks with all in the Crozet and Western Albemarle community who have supported construction of the Crozet library since 1988. This afternoon the Board of Supervisors did approve sending the project to bid. The Board will approve final wording a week from today, at our 3 pm financial planning discussion in room 241.
A final vote is still needed to send the project to construction, of course, as every project requires final approval once the bids are received and evaluated. Decisions on the fiscal year 2013 budget will be made in March/April, 2012.
Today’s first step is essential to make the process real in the minds of our bidders and our donors. Today’s success would never have happened without you. I may be the point of the spear, but you are the muscle-the sustained, informed, persistent outreach from many members of the community was and still is essential. You wrote letters, made phone calls, met with supervisors individually, sent emails, and stormed the BOS meetings with witty and intelligent information about the history of the project. No supervisor could ever ask for more from her constituents.
The bid documents will be finalized in about a month. The plans are now at about 98% completion. Board member Duane Snow suggested adding to the bid process that builders are invited to make suggestions of cost savings for the project. This will continue the value engineering on the plans begun this fall.
The CIP or Capital Improvement Program committee has the library as its number 1 project. Their report will come to the board and the public during the next week.
The funds for the library construction are based upon an equalized tax rate. Retaining a fourth tax cut in a row would leave the local government facing severe service cutbacks and remove any capital projects from the budget, even emergency projects. 0.5 cents of the equalized rate revenue is to be used for capital projects ONLY, and other efficiencies and reductions in local government operations will be used to meet increased expenses for retirement system payments and other mandated obligations.
There is more work to do, more baby steps to accomplish, but we are on a better path today. Pleased stay focused on this project and continue to share your support with the [email protected].
Thank you again. See you at the Soiree.
Great news!
I do have one request for the library desk:
Can we hire or would a local carpenter volunteer to build the circulation desk out of local hardwoods?
I expect that the County would accept your offer to pay for it. With the desk out of the way all we need is someone to pay for the rest of it.
Edward! that is hysterical!! I agree…with all those pesky problems like local hardwood desks, and how about fighting about “green” parking and making sure no one gets a paper cut on any book….how about the big picture…BUILD IT!!