SOLD

WASILLA — After a vote by the city council last night, the city of Wasilla will purchase Meta Rose Square, but its future as a library remains uncertain.

The unanimous vote in favor of appropriating the $1.5 million necessary to purchase the downtown shopping center came after three hours of public hearing and back-and-forth discussion about the terms of the contract.

After calling the existing owners during a recess of the meeting, city staff determined the building could be purchased without turning it into a library. Council members expressed that the deal was too good to pass up and voted to buy the building.

The original deal had the city purchasing the building for $500,000 below the tax assessed value contingent on keeping the name “Meta Rose” somewhere in the name with the intent of using the building for a library.

Volunteers on both the Friends of the Wasilla Public Library a city library steering committee were upset when they first heard of the plans after a city council executive session on Nov. 9. Not only were they not consulted, but the Meta Rose center is severely lacking square footage and parking space identified in a needs assessment the city paid for.

In response, the city’s administration said it was bound by confidentiality until the purchase agreement was signed in the executive session. The library steering committee will continue to work toward a new facility, but the Meta Rose will simply be a “stop-gap” solution offering relief to the grossly undersized current building.

Opponents also pointed to a cost estimate of what it will take to bring the Meta Rose up to acceptable standards of a working library. To meet the needs of a modern library, the city would have to upgrade the electrical, data and climate control systems. This, in addition to relocating partitions and replacing interior finishes, would cost an estimated $2.3 million. This is in addition to the $540,000 the report said is necessary to simply bring the building up to code.

The report, compiled for the city by an Anchorage architectural firm, concludes that even with the $2.3 million on top of the $540,000 added to the purchase price, the Meta Rose is still cheaper than building a new facility even without including the value of the land. That seemed to be the argument that won council over on Monday night.

Hearing the push back from library users and volunteers, city council members showed discomfort with being locked into making the building a library, even if it was not permanent. However, the council seemed to like the price and was worried a future library built to the needs assessment’s standards would be a long way off and subject to voters approving bonds.

Once it was determined the building would not have to be a library, the council voted unanimously to make the purchase.

However, that’s not to say the contract is without any clauses. The existing owners specified they want the name “Meta Rose” to follow the library wherever it may be located. The lot any future building sits on is to be named with this designation and the name displayed on the building itself.

Additionally, if the city decides to sell the building at any time, the net proceeds will be used to fund a future library. If the city is to go forward with turning the building into a library, all money appropriated for renovations will have to come before the city council for further discussion.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.