Council Settles On Public Library Site

In one of its most anticipated City Council decisions in recent years, the council voted late last night to expand the current public library on Broadway, rejecting a proposal to move the library to Central Square.

By a seven to two margin, the council decided to spend $35 million renovating and enlarging the current library near Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), creating a 90,000 square foot facility with improved technology and services.

Proponents throughout the night called the Broadway site "tried and true" and complimented the "serenity and dignity" of the location. They said the site, located in the geographical center of Cambridge, would also benefit students at nearby CRLS.

Compared to the bustle of Central Square and the heavy traffic of Prospect Street, the library on Broadway is surrounded by quiet, grassy open space, proponents said.

The Broadway site offers "simple elegance that we can hold onto," said Joan Qualls Harris, who sat on a library advisory committee in 1996.

"We can walk through Harvard Yard, but it's not ours. The library is ours. Everyone can go there," she added.

After hearing from Harris and about a dozen other members of the public, councillors gave lengthy speeches reiterating their positions on the two possible sites. The process for choosing a site has taken over eight years. The choices were narrowed down to the two sites this fall, with councillors divided over which site to choose.

As expected, however, the current site garnered the needed votes to remain at its location. After their final attempts at persuasion failed to change the council's five to four split, two councillors who had favored Central Square followed the majority and supported the current site.

Councillors Marjorie C. Decker and Kathleen L. Born had adamantly opposed expanding the Broadway branch, saying the Central Square site would be more accessible from public transit. Central Square is known as the civic center of Cambridge, located near shops, restaurants and other popular destinations, they said.

Free from the constraints of expanding the Broadway building, with its old-fashioned architecture, the new facility could be "sparkling" and "sleek," Born said.

"It's a vision of a library that is urban, thriving and accessible," Decker said.

Initially, Decker and Born joined Councillors Jim Braude and Henrietta Davis in a procedural vote that would have supported the Central Square site.

But just minutes before the final vote, saying her last-ditch attempts at persuasion had failed and saying it was clear the Broadway site would prevail, Decker said she was "prepared to move forward."

"I'm afraid this issue is as close to a tie as we can get. I'm disappointed but I'm not bitter. I'm willing to move forward from this point," Born added.

Though no positions were changed last night, councillors passed two amendments to the bill giving final site approval that reflected ongoing anxieties about the library plans.

One amendment specified the precise dollar amount that City Manager Robert W. Healy could ask for in a bond issue to raise money for the expansion and renovation. The provision capped the figure at $31,785,495.

Healy said this was the amount he was planning on requesting anyway. But he said the council's concerns over financing would serve as an "incentive to try to stay within the total budget."

The current cost projections are very preliminary, Healy said. Architects have not yet drawn up a detailed design for the expanded library, and city officials will have to conduct a complicated bidding process to choose architects and builders.

Even though construction is not planned to begin for two years, Healy said city officials would move quickly to secure financing for the project. He said councillors could vote as early as Dec. 18 to authorize the $31 million in financing.

Councillors also passed a second amendment that will require Healy to present a plan for improving transportation to the Broadway site, including the possibility of shuttle service to certain areas.

Despite the prolonged debate, councillors expressed relief at finally making a decision.

"I regret there's winners and losers. I hope everyone will walk out of this chamber feeling like winners for the people of Cambridge," said Councillor Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.