Wasilla hoping investment will yield a new library

WASILLA — In looking to secure its share of federal stimulus money, the city administration is following the old adage: You have to spend money to make money.

Hence an ordinance introduced to Wasilla City Council authorizing the city to spend $50,000 in pursuit of a $15 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

If awarded, the lion’s share of the money will go to fund a new library, said Public Works Director Archie Giddings. The city has been looking at building a facility for more than a year, and the current site plan is for the library to be built on part of Nunley Park across from city hall, Giddings said.

A library steering committee is in place to guide the process. The committee is working with members of Valley Performing Arts to look at the feasibility of a joint facility with a library and theater, and another option is to build a new library wing onto the VPA’s existing building, Giddings said.

“We have hired an architect to look at our needs,” Giddings said. “Now, it is all subject to finding some money.”

The stimulus grant is just one option the city is looking at, he said. Another would be to ask voters if they want to fund the new library. The Menard Memorial Sports Complex will be paid off in a few years, Giddings said, after which the extra revenue could be diverted to build the new facility.

“But if we get this grant, we wouldn’t need to do that,” he said.

To get the grant awarded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city is seeking the services of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Nixon Peabody. Of the $50,000, the city would use $20,000 to pay the firm to write the grant and $30,000 for its lobbing efforts.

According to the ordinance in front of council, the portion of the grant not used to build a new library would be used for other downtown revitalization projects.

The $50,000 will come from the more than $200,000 the city received from the state in revenue sharing. The council will vote on whether to fund the money to begin the application process at its meeting on July 27.

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