By wide margin, Palmer approves $10 million in bonds to rebuild its library

Palmer voters overwhelmingly approved $10 million in new city general obligation bonds to rebuild the city’s library that was damaged by a collapsed roof last winter.

The “yes” vote on library bonds totaled 79 percent, or 245 ballots cast. “No” votes totaled 64, or 20.7 percent.

Some residents may argue about what books ought to be in a public library but almost everyone wants a library, it seems.

By an even wider margin Palmer voters approved an expansion of a senior citizen and disabled veteran residential property tax exemption to $300,000 following earlier increases by the city and the Matanuska Susitna Borough.

The bottom line is that if a resident of Palmer owns a home valued at $299,000 or less, no municipal property tax is paid, said city manager John Moosey. The vote for the increased seniors’ and disabled veterans’ exemption was 277 “yes,” or 89.6 percent, to 10.3 percent “no,” or 64 votes.

The exemption applies only to property in the city of Palmer.

Moosey said the results indicate that Palmer residents support ballot proposition that have the support of the city and its elected council. “There is a lot of trust,” he said. Palmer has never seen a ballot proposition fail.

City officials hope the bonds may not be needed because other funds may cover the rebuilding cost. The state Legislature stepped forward with a $5 million appropriation toward rebuilding costs, which could range to $18 million, and an insurance settlement on the damage is still pending.

There’s a good possibility that federal or other funds can be found, reducing or possibly eliminating the amount of debt the city will take on. The heavy vote favoring the bonds will help raise other money because it shows strong local support for the library, Moosey said.

Meanwhile, the design work is proceeding for the rebuild, by Wolf Architecture, of Palmer. The design is now about 35 percent complete, Moosey said. The city council will review the work and then decide what to do next.

A decision the council will make once the costs are known is whether to build a new building, which will likely be larger to allow new uses, or to just repair the original structure. No matter way that goes the library location is highly likely to remain downtown in the city so there is maximum public access.

Meanwhile, as the design work continues Palmer’s library is open, although in temporary rented retail space.