MARYSVILLE Residents of the Arlington community will vote in May on two measures that, if passed, would result in a new 20,000-square-foot library for the greater Arlington area.
The first ballot measure, which requires a simple majority of more than 50 percent, asks voters in most of the Arlington School District, east of Interstate 5, to form a special taxing district called a library capital facility area.
This geographical area represents the Arlington Librarys service area, and if formed would become the tax base for funding a new library.
The second measure is an $8.8 million bond, which would pay for building the library itself. It requires a 60 percent majority.
The two library measures will be presented for a public vote May 20.
Residents inside the proposed boundaries will have the opportunity to vote on the taxing district and bond project. Both measures must pass in order for the proposed new library project to move forward.
A similar proposal was presented to the voters in 2006 and it failed by 27 votes.
The $8.8 million bond would be used to build a 20,000-square-foot library to be located across the street from the current library at 135 N. Washington Ave., east of downtown Arlington.
The city of Arlington has provided the land as part of a larger, planned community complex, using the current library building as a community center of some sort.
The current Arlington Library is approximately 5,200-square-feet, and was built in the 1980s. The proposed new library would be 20,000-square-feet including a meeting room, a study room, public seating for more than 100, approximately 80 parking spots, and a collection of about 98,000 items.
The Arlington Library service area has grown beyond the current librarys ability to serve the population, said the Sno-Isle Libraries Director Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory.
A larger library will allow us to bring more books, technology and programming to the community.
For more information on library services in your area, please call Sno-Isle Libraries Service Center at 360-651-7000 or 800-342-1936, or visit the Website at www.sno-isle.org.