Meeting Notes - 10/21/09

North Buffalo Library Long Term Planning Committee

The Committee met last night at Cafe Allegro on Hertel Ave. Eleven members of the community attended the meeting.

The committee discussed the need to get a commitment from the mayor to build or reuse an existing building for a permanent North Buffalo library. Bridget Quinn-Carey has contacted the mayor's office to arrange a meeting with members of the committee.

The needs assessment study was discussed. Members talked about the methodology of a consultant including the use of surveys, focus groups, public forums and demographics. The discussion also included using existing urban planning statistics and local college resources in addition to professional library consultants.

The group discussed the perceived legitimacy of the committee to the community. How did members get to be on the committee? Who appointed people? Are there other groups in the community with similar goals? Was the committee formed out of another organization? Will the mayor want someone from his administration on the committee? Should the Library Board of Trustees be involved? These and other related questions were discussed. The committee wants to expand it's membership through publicity and outreach in the community. There may be an overall larger group of community membership with a smaller steering committee.

The group discussed how the Merriweather Library was planned and funded with the understanding that the political and budget situation for the city, county and state is much different now then it was at that time. A potential time-line was talked about for a new North Buffalo library with the hope that a five year lease for the temporary branch library would be enough. A ten year time span was also unfortunately considered.

The group also briefly discussed alternative funding models such as a building not owned by the city and multi-use buildings. Using existing buildings such as unused schools and churches was discussed.

The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday December 2 for 6:30 pm at Cafe Allegro.

The committee will hear a report from the attendees of the meeting with the mayor and determine how to proceed.