The Riverside Public Library Board of Trustees is inviting the community to learn more about their plans for a voter referendum next spring to fund the renovation of the building’s lower level at a public forum on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. in the Great Room of the library, 1 Burling Road.
Library officials will present their plans for renovating the lower level and the scope of the referendum before fielding questions from those in attendance. The library board is proposing a $1.5 million bond issue to fund the project, which has been on the drawing board since late 2017.
After fundraising efforts fell short of the library board’s goal, trustees decided in September to change gears. The board now hopes voters will approve the bond issue, which would have a 15-year term. The estimated property tax impact to a home valued at $300,000 would be $36 annually. The impact on a home valued at $500,000 would be $62 per year.
Fundraising efforts have resulted in about $217,000 in donations. Those funds are being used to build out the first phase of the lower-level renovation — the creation of an early learners’ room.
At the library board’s next meeting on Oct. 8, trustees will vote to approve a resolution to seek the ballot initiative.
