HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Promotion Committee January 19, 2011CITY OF PALM DESERT
PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE
APPROVED MINUTES
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 — 3:00 p.m.
Administrative Conference Room
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Kermode convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present: CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Member Joan Beasley APPROVED DENIFI)
Member Lois Cardona RECEIVED_, Fie nTElElz
Member Marilyn Hahn MEETING DAT C ICI _
Member Ella Manor AYES. � n ,' scn
Vice Chair Bobbie RosenberROES: 11nne
Chairman Louise Kermode ABSENT: .Qr;„N
ABSTAIN: T—
Also Present: VERIFIED BY:
Jean M. Benson, Mayor Original on File with City Clerk's Rice
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
Barbara Howison, Deputy Administrator, County Library System
Jeannie Kays, City Librarian
Tonya Kennon, County Librarian
Eileen Strain, Volunteer Coordinator
Robin Stewart, Special Events Coordinator
Mary P. LaCross, Recording Secretary
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
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IV. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. MINUTES of the Palm Desert Library Promotion Committee
Meeting of November 17, 2010.
Rec: Approve as presented.
Upon motion by Member Beasley, second by Member Hahn, the Minutes
of the Library Promotion Committee meeting of November 17, 2010, were approved as
presented by a 6-0 vote.
V. NEW BUSINESS
A. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR 2011
Vice Chair Rosenberg moved to appoint Louise Kermode as Chairman of
the Palm Desert Library Promotion Committee for 2011. Motion was seconded by
Member Beasley and carried by a 6-0 vote.
Member Beasley moved to appoint Bobbie Rosenberg as Vice Chair of
the Palm Desert Library Promotion Committee for 2011. Motion was seconded by
Member Manor and carried by a 6-0 vote.
VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS
None
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VII. OLD BUSINESS
A. UPDATE ON LIBRARY REFRESH PROJECT
The following is a verbatim transcript of this portion of the meeting:
Key
LK
Louise Kermode, Library Committee Chair
SP
Sergio Pena, Riverside County Economic Development Agency
TCH
Thomas C. Howell, Holt Architects
AR
Andrea Redewill, Holt Architects
JB
Joan Beasley, Library Committee Member
JMB
Councilmember Jean M. Benson
JK
Jeannie Kays, City Librarian, Palm Desert Library
LC
Lois Cardona, Library Committee Member
BH
Barbara Howison, Deputy Administrator, County Library System
ES
Eileen Strain, Volunteer Coordinator, Palm Desert Library
BR
Bobbie Rosenberg, Library Committee Vice Chair
MH
Marilyn Hahn, Library Committee Member
RDK
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
DS
Deborah Schwartz, Public Art Coordinator
SG
Stan Greene, Library Committee Applicant
LK Old Business... Update on Library Refresh Project...
SP Well, thank you. Thank you again for having us here. It's a new year, so
Happy New Year to everyone. We've done some work here in the last
month and a half, or is it just a few weeks since we last saw you? I can't
remember, but it's been a while. So ... we sat down with you last time. We
had a few comments from the floor. We hopefully have addressed the
majority of the comments. I think there was one that sticks out in my mind
that we weren't able to address completely, but we feel that we're at a
good stage. The County of Riverside has filed with the Board of
Supervisors an approval of the schematic drawings, allowing us to move
forward into design development and construction documents. So, it's a
formal act that the County has to do so that we're able to move forward. It
doesn't mean that any of the work that was done prior to can't be revisited
if we hear something from the Committee. So with those kind of overview,
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I'd like to kind of give Tom from Holt Architects a couple of minutes here to
give us a brief overview of the project to date.
TCH Actually, it's...
SP Oh, I'm sorry, Andrea.
AR Hello again. I'm just going to be passing around some floor plans in our
design development phase that kind of show where we are to date and
give you guys a better picture as well as something we'll talk about in a
little bit ... one of the issues that you guys brought up in terms of signage
for the Library. But as that goes around, like Sergio said, we're in the
design development phase of the project. We're going to be refining what
we did, the work we did, in the schematic design phase. Right now we're
working with the team to further develop the finishes and material
schemes ... to get, really, a clear picture of what this project is going to
entail in the next month or so. We're looking to kick off the construction
documents toward the end of February and in March and get this project
moving forward because I know it's a high priority of all of us. Since we
last visited, there's just been some minor changes to the floor plan,
particularly around the Friends of the Library book sale alcove and work
room. We looked to increase the size of that as much as possible, as well
as the work room itself. You know, that was somewhat of a concern, and
one of the challenges is that there is an additional restroom being
proposed on the floor, and working that in. This is the solution that has
been presented to date, and it seems to be a favorable direction for us to
move forward with in this space. So before you, you have the plan, and
you can look it over, and if you have any questions about it, we're open to
discussing that. But other than that change since you've last seen this
plan, it's been pretty established for the most part. One of the concerns, I
know, that was brought up at our last meeting was the placement of the
computer area and kind of where that was in relation to the overall design.
We looked at that, we went back and forth, and before we came up to the
final plan and schematic design, that was really addressed. And there's a
couple of reasons where it stands now why it's proposed in the area. One
of the significant factors is really trying to establish kind of the more public
areas and the areas in the Library that might be louder, in a sense, of
activity. We're really near the lobby and the computer area, where there's
actually a lot of activity going on in those areas, as well as in the children's
area and in the juvenile area. As you go further into the Library, this is
kind of designated more into a quieter area of the Library, so that was
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partly an underlying design intent of why the computer area is towards the
lobby area of the facility, to really designate kind of those louder activity
areas from the quieter portions of the Library. Another aspect that goes
into kind of where the location and the division of the spaces within the
building is visibility, and from the lobby area, having the (inaudible)
computer desk and this computer zone near the entrance of the Library
gives you the feeling when you first walk in where you can kind of oversee
and see into the Library and see, you know, kind of where the direction
you want to go and move forward. So those are just some of the factors
that played in, and of course, I know there was some concern of walking
right into the area and immediately walking into a computer zone, and I
think as we develop the project further, you'll see kind of the aesthetics
and the design that goes into the overall areas, the Marketplace and the
computer zone and the juvenile area ... you'll see that it'll really look nice.
JB Could you explain on the schematic where the big glass doors are that
shut off the Public Library?
AR Yes. So if you look at the designation from the purple area here ... and
directly to the right of that, you kind of go into an orange and blue area...
JB That's not the color we have on our schematic, so if you could just say the
name of the room...
AR Okay. Let's see, do you see where the Holds...
JB Holds and Self Checkout?
AR ...Holds and Self Checkout area ... to the right of that, you'll see kind of a
delineation in color...
JB Right
AR It's right about there. You'll see a box that says Restroom... that's where
we're proposing the new restroom.
SP It actually has an RR.
LK Over here to the right?
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AR RR? Where you see the RR? Right to the left of that is actually the
partition where the divider is, and it comes in...
JB So the Holds and Self Checkout will be available when only the College is
open?
JMB I was just going to ask...
SP Correct.
JK And the Friends book sale room will be still open ... all that will be open any
time we're open.
LC And the additional restroom goes where?
AR The additional restroom is right in that area, and it'll be a single...
JMB It's a restroom that's there by the one she just pointed out, by the
Children's... is that going to be a children's restroom?
AR It potentially will be a family restroom where you could bring a child in
there as well as the parent.
JMB Well, but...
AR But it wouldn't be specifically for children.
JMB Well, maybe there should be because the programs are mostly kids, and
at the day school, at my day school anyway, they have smaller toilets and
lower sinks and things the kids can use. You know, five -year -olds can go
to the bathroom alone.
AR Okay
JMB And they don't need ... and a lot of them won't have their parents all the
time with them maybe, so maybe it should be ... since it's there, I was
looking at the Children's Room, but since it's right there, maybe that
should be a children's bathroom.
AR I think that's something we can definitely... that's a good point to take into
consideration and see what we can...
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JMB It seems to me it should be child -friendly if it's going to be...
SP Actually, I love those. They have those at my son's preschool, and...
JMB And we have them at my preschool.
TCH You certainly could incorporate that, but the Building Code doesn't require
you to have the lower size except for preschool age kids.
JMB Well, that's (inaudible)
TCH In that case, you'd also ... with the preschool, it requires an adult
supervision in that space, but once you're into kindergarten or above, they
actually for ... the State allows for the adult height toilets to be used.
RDK Tom, I know that ... also a point that you should know is that because of
these modifications we were making, we were required to install another
restroom...
TCH Correct
RDK ...but if it had children's fixtures, would that meet Code?
TCH No, you would have to add another one. In just looking at your budget,
the restrooms are expensive spaces. If you decide that's the best use of
money, of course we can incorporate that, but...
JB How many stalls will this restroom have?
TCH This one that we're talking to is just a single accommodation, and it was
intended to be called "family" so either with kids or other adults that might
need assistance from a family member could use this.
JK We do have a customer right now who has ... we have to block off the
restroom so that he can go in and assist his wife, so we have that situation
now where we need ... a family restroom would be perfect.
AR Any other comments or questions on the floor plan?
JB I just asked if we'll still have an outside book drop.
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AR You mean from the curbside or the...
JANUARY 19, 2011
JB Yes, the curbside where you can drive through.
AR I believe....l'm not too clear on that at the moment.
SP Well, actually, the current plan ... if I can answer that...
AR Yes, if you could, please.
SP The current plan does not show drop bins for either books or media, and
here's the reason why. We're putting in an automated system that
hopefully catalogs with RFID everything in a certain way so that it's easier
to shelve, and in doing so, what it allows us to do is lessen the burden of
asking staff to sort through all of the different material. So, to kind of
automate that entire system, you have to ask people to put it in the system
inlet, which is ... we're showing right outside ... if you look at the staff work
room...
JB Yes
SP ...towards the left-hand side, you'll see about eight boxes.
JB
Oh, okay.
SP
That's the location...
JB
That's the drop.
SP
Correct
JMB
Where is that?
SP
From the exterior of the building.
AR
Right above the "M".
JMB And those will open to the outside?
SP Correct.
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JB So the outlet or place to put your books in is actually from the sidewalk
outside the Library.
SP Yes.
AR Correct.
JB If you're inside the Library, what do you do with it?
JK You go back outside and...
BR You drop it off first and then go in the Library.
JK But if someone brought, in all reality, if someone handed us some things,
we would take them (inaudible)
SP There's a self -feed side to the machine as well.
JB And the Library could still put out a couple of the drive -by return boxes if
they chose to do that. It wouldn't get sorted, but...
SP Exactly.
JK We're trying to avoid that because of...
JB Well, I've had people, neighbors, say "I'd like to drive through and return
the books."
JMB Well, I think we'd have to ... in this area, with the amount of seniors and
that that we have, I think we have to have an outside drop.
JK But....my window is right outside the book drop, and I'm wondering... when
you pull up to that drive, do you get out of your car?
JMB I don't ... I open the door, but I don't have to get out.
JK I see most of the people open their door, get out of their car, stand at the
book drop, and put it in.
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JB They don't have to park and walk to the Library and look for a parking
place.
JK Right
LK You get out, Jean?
JMB No, I don't get out. I open the door if I don't get close enough.
(inaudible)
SP There are actually a couple of conversations going on. So I want to make
sure we address both comments. The first comment is could you put in
supplementary bins where you ask staff to relocate and put it into the
automation system. The answer is yes. That's your choice, you know,
working through with the Library staff. And the comment also was ... hey,
when you're driving up, do you really use the book bin the way ... kind of
like a fast food place where you stay in your car the whole time, or are you
just getting out of your car and walking a few steps? Now are we just
asking you to walk a few more steps? The answer to that right now is,
right now that entire curb is painted red. In other sites, in other projects,
we've been able to work with the Fire Department to maybe get one or two
parking spaces 10 minutes, 5 minutes, for the use, particularly to just drop
off books. So we feel we can address it both ways. We're obviously
recommending, you know, to help the staff that work there. Obviously,
there's an interest to serve the public as well that we have to consider, but
I think we are recommending that we ask patrons to put the books in the
system.
BH And there is one advantage ... as soon as you put your book in that slot, it
discharges it off your record, so if you use another library or ... you don't
have to wait for them to go out and empty the book drop and clear your
record ... it's done.
JK And it's returned right into the air-conditioned building or the heated
building. We've had issues just recently with the rain ... every book in the
book bin got water damage. In one instance, when it poured for three
days just recently, somebody stuck their entire canvas bag full of books in
there, and it wedged the door open, and everything got wet, and then
there it goes. And the last time, it was just moisture, and the books were
just real wavy, and we had to close the book drop because of the
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moisture. I know that doesn't happen every day and rarely, but there is a
lot of concern about the heat damage and the items in the summertime.
BR Is there heat damage?
JK The materials we're getting now are not as bad, but people are very
concerned to put their things in there, and they ask us is it okay to put my
DVD in there?
LK I thought there was a sign you couldn't put the DVDs in there.
JK There is a sign that says you can't. But then people get (inaudible). But
Barbara makes a good point about it's right off your account.
LK Well, who makes this decision? I agree with Jean. I think that there
should be an outside one and not have to get out of the car. You could be
partially disabled and returning a book. And I don't get out of the car to
put the book in the thing.
ES (inaudible) not to be partially disabled, but partially lazy.
BR Because if you are partially or fully disabled, you need to go in to get your
book ... are we asking too much to step up and return...?
ES You see, what happens, and I used to do that bin, no joke, people would
put it in plastic bags and stuff it in ... and as Jeannie said, it would get
jammed. But okay. Some people will just get out of their car, leave their
books in a plastic bag, and drop it in to that little slot. They're still going to
be in plastic bags, they're not going to undo it, they don't do it...
JK It's a lot smaller.
ES Well, then they're going to put it into...
BH Then there's a conveyor belt that moves things along.
JB So you're saying that by the automatic book return, there might be a
couple of parking spots that people could pull into to get out ... if they didn't
want to go in the Library and find a parking space...
SP Correct.
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JB ...to get out and go put their book on the conveyor belt.
SP We have not pursued that...
MH Are you saying there might be or will be?
SP Well, we can make it a requirement. I mean, you can make that my
requirement as part of, kind of the swap between book bins.
X Would that be a good concession if we said that there would be some
loading zone spots? I know it's difficult for some people to get out of their
cars, but would that be a good concession?
MH Well, the reason that I'm asking is because I came over in December with
a trunk full of books for donation, and I was having one of my "I can't walk"
days ... my hip was very bad, I couldn't walk ... I couldn't find ... there are
only a few handicapped spots... taken ... I could not find anything anywhere
near. I'd have to get out, go into the Library, get someone to come back
out to take them ... I left and went over and gave them to the Rancho
Mirage Library. It's true.
JB They've got a drive -by window that they have ... they built it that way, so it's
there.
SP Well...
?? A whole other issue.
SP I have not contacted the Fire Department, but I'll make sure that we do
and I have a response for you regarding the parking spaces where we
currently have a red curb.
MH I think that's really important.
SP Okay.
AR Any other questions or comments regarding the floor plan? If not, I'm just
going to bring your attention to the other exhibit that I put in front of you,
and that is another topic that was brought up.
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RDK That reminded me. I'm not sure that the Committee is aware, but we
found out, as a result of our Committee/Commission Celebration party in
mid -December, that the mosaic pieces behind the circulation desk ... there
are a couple on the columns as you enter ... that is a commissioned Art In
Public Places/City of Palm Desert collection piece. So there are some
very stringent things that have to be followed before we can relocate that.
The good news is the pieces inside on that wall that is between the
circulation desk and the work room currently, they are framed, so they can
be taken off and relocated. We've been in contact with the artist, and in
fact, Deborah Schwartz, our Public Art Coordinator, may stop by just to let
us know if she's heard anything more. And I know in a previous
discussion at the Committee level, we talked about maybe doing
something on the outside to make things prettier, make it more inviting,
and it's possible... we've asked the artist if she would be opposed to us
putting them on the outside because part of it is already on the outside, so
it should be able to withstand climate issues. So ... to fit in with this
discussion about the exterior...
AR Right. And that was definitely something that was brought up at that last
meeting, so we will keep you informed as we find out information or as
Deborah is able to report. But that is something that will be looked at and
considered in the next few weeks or so, the possible relocation of the
mosaics. Where that location will be, we will find out. Moving on to the
exterior signage, these are just a couple studies ... just kind of want to
preface it ... the words that you see, in terms of the signage, are just
examples, not necessarily what is going to be the signage. But right now,
we're looking ... it's actually the west elevation, disregard the label for east
elevation... but on the west side, this is for the entrance of the
Library... putting something near the entrance, right where you enter the
building. I think there were a lot of comments about, you know, you come
to the Library, and you don't know where to enter. Some people go
through the Community Room ... so putting something near where you're
supposed to go, to really direct people in the right direction and say,
"Library is here, enter in this door." It's shown right now up on the canopy
above. This is going to be studied further. Different variations may be
looked at, and we'll look at terms of the height and maybe something that
is kind of below the canopy or offset, but something in the general vicinity
of the entrance to really help guide you and give you some way finding.
The other elevation and side of the Library that we're looking to add
signage is the south elevation, which is the elevation, the side of the
building that faces Fred Waring. Right now, there's the current address
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numbers on that building, and we're proposing potentially putting some
signage, whether it's "Palm Desert Library" or whatever the name ends up
being, along that (inaudible). You have some images, just kind of showing
potentially how something like this could look. On the elevation, in the
(inaudible) we were just talking about, there are some trees and such that
we would take into consideration, the placement, but overall we're thinking
in that general vicinity seems to be a very clear location for some possible
signage to really get your eye and grab your attention as you're driving
down Fred Waring, and then once you enter the parking lot, something
again at the entrance that will really tell you where to go. So, if you have
any questions about that or feedback. The other sides of the building are
a little less prominent, but again we're just developing these concepts and
kind of really trying to see, you know, look at the signage and how you
enter the building from all aspects.
JB Who else has to approve ... I mean, does College of the Desert have to
approve whatever is put on the building on the exterior? You know, they
have the say-so, yes or not.
AR Yes, that's going to be definitely something that is kind of a joint decision
between the two. That's why I was kind of directing your attention towards
the wording, and it may be something completely different, but it would be
an agreement between...
SP Maybe we could put College of the Desert Library on one side and...
EM There's got to be a way of putting on the left-hand side here "Library"
underneath the canopy because that's too high?
JB She mentioned that.
AR Right. And that was something we had discussed, looking at the different
vantages and seeing, you know, is it too high? At what level is it
appropriate? Because you want to see it far enough where, as you're
entering the parking lot, it's visible, but, you know, as you're walking up, it
also wants to be clear as well. We'll be kind of studying that from different
perspectives and vantage points to kind of get a good location that's
visible to all entrances. Any other questions or comments?
SP I have a couple of last statements on this. Last time we presented this,
you saw it from afar. We're hoping that you can see a little bit more clear
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this time around, and I know it may be a lot of information. You know,
trying to make out what the shapes and all the different ... how the different
spaces interact with each other, and how's it different? If you have any
comments, feel free to get them to Rachelle or whomever you speak with
on a day to day, Jeannie.... we'll be happy to address them as it goes
forward. Our intent .... so, I spoke a little bit about schematic design and
then the County allowing us to move into design development. At a
certain point in the game, we do have to just, in a general sense, make an
approval where we stop making large moves, and we start making
incremental moves, small moves, so that we can actually see a finish to
this. So we do urge you, if you have any large objections, to make those
vocal today because we are moving forward.
LK Sergio...
S P Yes
LK I see in the Community Room, or by it, there's a kitchen. Is that new, and
what's going to be in it? That seems like a good idea.
JB That's been there.
LK That's been there?
JB Uh huh.
LK What is it, just a sink?
JB It's got a refrigerator and a sink.
LK It does? Wonderful.
RSK And a stove.
JK And a dishwasher.
JMB I see the kitchen for the Community Room, but how about the Multi -
Purpose Room? Is there any way that can have a coffee bar or something
that .... they wouldn't need to go to the kitchen for, but they could have their
soft drinks out (inaudible)... built into the wall ... we have one in our other
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room that we meet in, just in the wall ... there's a sink where the coffee is
made.
JB Kind of like a wet bar.
JMB A wet bar.
LK Like here, like this.
SP Okay
JMB And then they don't have to truck all the way down to the Community
Room kitchen to do anything.
SP Okay, we'll make note of that.
JB It's probably a plumbing situation.
JK Plumbing.
TCH The challenge there ... if there's not plumbing over that area, it's more than
the supply lines, the waste lines, to tie back in, we have to cut into the slab
and bring that across, and hope the elevations are sufficient for tie-in. So,
it could be...
BR Otherwise, that's a great idea.
TCH It could be possible, but it would take some investigation to see if we even
have enough space and then give some thought of what the cost would be
to cut that much concrete and tie in.
SP That's for the sink, but we could definitely still do a furnishing or
something...
(inaudible)
?? Microwave
SP ...so you could have beverages there.
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JMB Well, it doesn't have to have a sink if it has a wet bar that you could use
for serving and...
BR A dry bar.
AR That's something we definitely will look into and get back to you on that.
LK Any other questions? When will we meet again?
SP Well, we actually had intended to bring you a visual, more than this, of the
interiors. We're still developing those, and we feel ... what did we agree
on, about a month?
AR I think at your February meeting.
RDK February 16tn
SP Yes, and that's tentative at this point. If we can maybe within two weeks
confirm whether or not we can deliver that, but our intent is to give you
kind of a full picture of what the inside is going to look like. Does that
sound like a good idea, or not?
BR It sounds marvelous.
SP Great.
JMB Have we decided what's going to happen when you do start, whether
we're going to be open, closed...?
SP Wow, you have excellent timing, excellent timing. Is there anything else
we want to present or show before we move into that conversation?
AR No, I think that was it in terms of updates of the progress.
SIP Okay. I have a few handouts to answer your question. Does everyone
have a copy of the handouts? Okay, we'll start with this one right here,
the 8 Y2 x 11 that says Palm Desert Library Relocation. I think what we'll
do is, we'll go through this in an overview fashion, and then we'll come
back to the summary sheet because I believe that's kind of the best place
to really continue the conversation. So, let me talk a little bit about EDA.
We also have a Real Properties Division. We asked the real estate agent
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to take a look at what the market looks like right now in terms of being
able to lease commercial space. So they went out, they took a look at
what's being listed, they drove around the area, they tried to find places
that would maybe work for a library, and then for relocatables or modular
buildings. I place a few calls to a few vendors that we've used in the past,
and we asked for quotes for different sizes of units, and we formulated
costs that way as well. And then for the third option, for phased
construction, using their past experience, Holt Architects developed a cost
for what savings we would get if we move from the phased construction
that we're currently planning for to just doing a complete construction
outright, having total use of the space. So, if we turn the page to the next
page, Leasing Real Properties, you're going to see various examples of
that market today, of the leased properties available. We have not made
contact with any real estate agent that represents any of these owners.
We have not negotiated anything. These lease rates per square foot do
not include taxes, insurance, custodial costs, maintenance costs, electrical
costs, any upgrades to the existing building. They do not include any of
that. Okay?
JB Who does the moving into if we're going to re -setup the Library in another
building?
SP I would do as part of the project, and I would move it back into the Library
as part of the project.
LK ToysRUs is moving out, too.
JMB What?
LK ToysRUs is moving out.
SP Correct.
LK Do you have that down, too?
SP Two moves, it would be two moves.
?? She was saying ToysRUs was moving.
SP Oh, ToysRUs.
W.
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LK Yes, they just said they're moving to Indio.
JMB Well, we might have that leased, though, so...
LK Oh, it's leased already?
JMB No, but there are prospects.
LK Oh, okay. That won't do, then.
JANUARY 19, 2011
SP So, as you can see, the rates are anywhere from $1.40 to $1.85 per
square foot. I'd like to move on to the next page. When we're talking
about relocatable buildings, they are very standard. They have sizes that
they manufacture and we have to adhere to. They are 24x60 or 2462, it
kind of ranges a little bit by a couple of feet depending on the
manufacturer. And we're showing you a couple different layouts. You can
see the smallest one, or the more standard one, is about 1,400 to 1,500
square feet. The highest standard size you can get is about 5,700 or
6,000 square feet. You can get onto higher, non-standard square
footages, like the 18,000 square feet where we currently occupy, but
there's obviously a premium for that, too. Move on to the next page real
quick...
LK Question
S P Yes
LK What is our library's square footage now?
SP 18,000
LK 18,000. That's the number down here under Option 3.
SP Correct
LK Okay
RDK That's usable.
TCH With the lobby, it's 20,000
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SP Correct
LK 20,000 square feet
TCH With the lobby
LK With the lobby
BH Which is jointly used...
SP So, on the next sheet, you're going to see a simple little matrix of the
modular options. Option #1 is for that 1,400/1,500 square foot option.
Option 2, you can see how the price goes up once you get into custom.
JB If you got a modular unit, it would go in the parking lot...?
SIP Correct
JB ...or the lawn or...?
SP We don't have a specific plan in place just yet for where it could go. It's
going to be in the parking lot somewhere. We'll work out the details of
how to get water there, how to get electrical there. We would do waste
containers and have to export out on an interim basis. And then, finally,
the next sheet shows phased construction, and this may be better suited
in the larger sheet that was handed out as well. Tom, would you care to
start?
TCH Thank you, Sergio. The key item in phasing the construction is to work in
the lobby area. College plans, during the winter break, they're closed, so
that would give one window that seems likely at this point. That'll occur
sometime in December of this year and they'll reopen in January. They
don't know exact dates yet, so maybe six weeks, maybe as much as eight
weeks, as few as four. So the whole thing is built around that. So, the
first phase, which you see up here, with these two pick bars on the
bottom, is preparing for it. The reason why the staff area would be done
first is once the lobby is closed, and this area is where the staff is now, so
we would need to relocate them and get their space ready. We would
have about two months if we stayed on track of where construction could
begin in October to complete the work in December. That itself is very
tight, especially for the restrooms, where contractors have to prepare shop
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drawings, order materials, have it fabricated off -site, and get on -site. For
some of those components, it's fairly tight. But it is doable. So the first
phase, just to recap, we allow the staff to come down into their new area.
It could also accomplish the Community Room at the same time, and that
would then prepare for Phase 2, and the lobby would be closed and
renovated during the College's closure during the break.
LK I have a question.
TCH Yes
LK Where does the painting and the roof come in in this schedule?
TCH That could happen at any time because ... the outside roof could happen
any time, the painting would happen area by area, so each area
would ... it's almost like it's its own separate renovation. The trades would
come in, they'd have to complete that whole area, turn it over, the punch
list would have to be complete, there'd have to be sign -off, then that area
would have to be protected against future construction. I'll touch more
upon that later. And the area within the lobby is to help within that is
picked to stop where the clerestory (sp?) is now, which you may
remember is just about above where the folding partition is. It's in that
vicinity, and that clerestory (sp?), because there's the change in the
ceiling plan, would give us the best option for stopping new paint and
marrying into the next area, which would be Phase 3, which would be the
bulk of the Library, in which case you'd have to vacate the majority of it.
We looked at a number of ways that we could try to divvy that up, but
because there's no sidewalk access to the south or to the east, we could
add that, but that would just be spending dollars that you would never use
again, so the bulk of the area would have to be closed during Phase 3, but
the lobby, with its market place, could be open. Then with maybe 2,000
square feet that would be usable, you could choose to move in the final
configuration, or you could use it as an interim library. From an
architectural or construction standpoint, this is still the most complicated
approach. Asking the contractors to complete areas and then protect
them on future phases is going to have a cost impact, number one
because of the length of schedule. If you noticed on here, it's about an
eight -month overall schedule. If it was done all at once, it could very
easily be condensed down to a four- or five -month time period, so the
savings alone from not having the contractors on -site that long would be a
substantial savings, but you would also broken up ... you would also incur
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11 &U--
TCH
JANUARY 19, 2011
more cost by each trade that has to mobilize, demobilize as they finish
their work, and do punch lists. It's hard to, without putting it out to bid or
being further along, it's hard to get specific numbers from a contractor, so
we would place before you a more conservative number. It could be
$150,000 or $200,000 more to phase this. Actual costs may be less, but
we don't want to steer you down a path where you'd have to change gears
in a very short timeframe and still be getting construction as planned.
So if we leased one of these properties, we would do it all at once.
That would be our recommendation. It would shorten the construction
time to the absolute minimum.
JMB I would think that would be the only way to go. I can't see doing it in
phasing and then having one of them look tacky by the time the rest of
them got done, with all the people, not purposely, but people coming and
going and knocking it around, and then it doesn't look new when it's all
done. It seems to me if we're going to move for the period that it takes to
do it, we should just move and get everybody out and get it done.
TCH You would have 100% support from this side of the table.
?? What a surprise.
SP Thank you for saying that. We would highly encourage the group here to
allow us the Library for the duration of the construction to be unoccupied.
JMB I want to know where this 74-245 building is, which is the cheapest one.
What building is that? Is that down by Deep Canyon?
JK Is it next LG's Prime Steakhouse and Tarbell?
SP Let me talk a little bit about the numbers, the range of low to high for
leasing of real property. For the low, the 73,000 that you see, that's the
$1.40 for 41,000...
JMB I wasn't looking at the cost for the six months, I don't care what it costs. I
was looking at the lowest one, which is $110,000.
RDK It's at the corner ... isn't that 74245...
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JK It's El Paseo
RDK El Paseo and 111, near Cabrillo...
SP Oh, the 6,000 square feet?
JK It's an office building.
JANUARY 19, 2011
RDK Right. Right next to LG's, the Desert Magazine building.
JMB And then the next cheapest one ... I don't think we need to go out to
Corporate Way or ... I think that's too far out. I think it has to be around
111 or Fred Waring (inaudible)
BR I have a question.
SP Yes
BR I would like to know why we can't be cooperative with the cities around us
that have wonderful libraries and simply close our beautiful library for four
to six months, store our stuff, and have a new wonderful library to move
into instead of spending all this. Am I alone? I would like to hear.
(change of tape)
SP We actually do not have an argument against that. We would support that
decision.
BR Oh, well ... I like that a lot.
ES Me, too.
JK I think we just want to make sure that the community ... we want to
represent what the community wants (inaudible)
BR And I think if it's presented properly to our community, our community has
a lot of good sense, and at this time when we've got financial things to
think about and people are really aware, I think, of where money goes, I
think that it could be ... we would still have our Bookmobile, which can be
utilized for things. Can the staff be utilized in other libraries to help out or
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whatever? It seems to me that that would be quite the win -win for
everybody.
JMB If we use the Bookmobile in conjunction with that, it could be for those
people who can't get to Cathedral City or someplace else, if we, you know,
had a route for them that they went and used it more than we use it now.
We could probably put a few more books in there than what they have.
JK Even just instead of having it stop at Palm Desert Country Club, have it
stop at the Library.
RDK Or City Hall.
JK Have it stop here or there.
RDK Depending on what construction...
JK Depending on safety.
JMB Probably having it stop here would be better because there's construction
trucks and stuff and everybody coming in there. If it stopped here, there
would be plenty of parking out here during the week.
JK But I don't know if that's going to negatively affect Palm Desert Country
Club. They get about 22 visits a week.
JMB But it might be more if it wasn't open, though. And people from the
surrounding area could come over there, too, if they knew, you know, this
is temporary, but the Bookmobile will be here if you really want to go.
JB How does the schedule fit in with COD's plans? Do they need it open,
because it's the only computer lab on campus, now?
BR Is it really?
JK We are working to change that.
SP We are making the assumption that we are to remain ... the College of the
Desert Library is to remain open.
(inaudible)
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LK Even with the painting and the carpeting?
SP We would have to create some sort of separation between our side of the
house and their side of the house.
TCH That's going to be the case irregardless of whether we single phase or
multiple phase it. We would look to time the closing of the Library, you
know, the winter break would still be a nice transition point or, if we're able
to move through DSA quicker than what DSA has projected, it could afford
the opportunity in summer. That would be the nicest. If any of you have
friends at DSA, we would welcome any encouragement to move it off the
waiting desk to in front of an actual staff member.
JMB Is there any chance, if we did it all in one phase, of starting it this July or
June instead of October?
SP Wow. Can we get back to you on that?
JMB It seems to me that the sooner you can get started on it instead of waiting.
If people get used to it during the summer that it's closed, and there's not
that many people using it, though it's very busy, that if we could get
started earlier and not wait until October til everybody is back to start the
thing, seems to me if we could start it, you know, no later than the first of
July, it would be far better.
TCH Our biggest challenge, to elaborate, our biggest time block is this is under
the jurisdiction of the Division of State Architect. I should elaborate —
that's DSA.
JMB Well, they'll be looking for something to do because they might be out of a
job...
TCH In our initial conversations, they were just forthright and said with budget
cutbacks, already it was such that plans would literally wait about a month
before someone was clear to look at them. They said it would take at
least one month for them to make a review of the plans, even though it's
only a tenant improvement, and then after they return the comments back
to us, to schedule time to get back with them and review comments, their
recommendation was at least two months. So their feedback to us is at
least a four -month window.
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JMB That's ridiculous.
JANUARY 19, 2011
TCH So that's why I say if anyone has connections or good friends at the
Division of State Architect, we're happy to work with you to expedite that
process, but that ... even if we went to bid ... even if we went to plan check
February 1st, that's still June before we would get clearance. So that kind
of gives you a window why we're really ... at this point, October is a realistic
start time, allowing for respective board approvals of the contracts for
construction. If we get lucky and they don't have much to do and we can
move it through shorter, absolutely, if we could begin in the summer time
and...
JMB Well, I don't think they're going to building many State buildings. They're
not going to start any new projects in the State, so they might be looking
for something to do.
TCH That would be great.
MH Jeannie, how would that impact the programs that you have for children
that are in school if we did it in the summer? I mean, you know, it seems
like that's one of the things ... look how many kids are (inaudible)
JK Unfortunately ... well, I guess fortunately, we're busy all the time, so we
have our wonderful summer reading program, but then in the season we
have our wonderful adult program.
JMB Maybe we could work with the Y to do some of our summer reading
programs.
JK Or maybe an elementary school, maybe Lincoln would be nice, if they
have an auditorium or something. We would just have to work that out.
JMB There are other places that they could have those programs.
BR For summer, Joslyn would probably be available.
JK Yeah, maybe summer.
JMB For summer, yeah.
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JK In the winter, we're not sure. We're going to cross that bridge when we
get closer to it.
MH But you're saying realistically it's very doubtful that we could start anything
beginning of the summer.
SP Well, Tom, who's laid out the same schedule to me ... well, we'd like to
make some calls to DSA and just verify the timeline as far as (inaudible)
JMB Tell them you're going to lose the contract if you don't start earlier.
SP I would love to say that, but I don't know if I can.
JK You know, Marilyn, we could ... in summer we could do a shortened
summer reading program. We get our biggest traffic in the first two weeks
of summer reading program, which is in June, and then as it goes along,
everything decreases a little bit. So, the end of July, first week of August,
it is a lot fewer. It's still a lot of children, but we...we would love to have
the construction start in the summer, but we're just bound by this...
EM But Jeannie, most of the children are brought in cars, aren't they? So why
can't they drive five more miles to someplace else?
JK Sure. If that were a possibility, we could ... maybe we could partner with a
neighboring branch and have our events there. I don't know.
BR I think that's the most workable thing we have to deal with, is what to do
with the kids program.
JMB (inaudible) community room at Palm Desert Country Club that probably
isn't used in the summer...
BR It's not used at all anymore, is it?
JMB I don't know.
BR I think that's been...
(inaudible)
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JK What happened to ... that used to be a library. The Palm Desert Country
Club branch.
JB Abut there are ownership issues.
(inaudible)
JMB Maybe that's something you could check to see the earliest date we could
possibly start.
SP Yes, you bet. We will definitely have something back to you on that. Any
other comments, questions, discussion? We're hoping to move this in a
direction, nudge us in a direction, we would appreciate it.
BR What direction do you have in mind, Sergio?
SP Well, as you can tell, there's a lot of complexities with all the different
options, right? And there's negotiations if you move for us to move in a
direction of leasing, but in a concept form, to allow us the Library for the
duration of construction so we can minimize the amount of time that we
have. We're just looking for that kind of direction.
BR Do we need a motion for this? Well, I move that we allow the Library to be
constructed without barriers and that we close our Library in the meantime
and continue....this is too long a deal, you'll have to figure it out ... to close,
you know, use our programs if we can and use our cooperation with our
friendly neighborhood libraries because we will be there for them when
they need us.
LK I'd like to interject a comment. Stan Greene is an applicant to be on our
Library Committee, and he's been a City Manager, and I wondered if you
had any experience, any comments you could make that would help us.
SG I would ask that you contact the State and ask if they'll fast track and that
the City would pay the cost. That would allow them to subcontract for
people that they don't have. We did that in the City of Oxnard for our
developers, and they participated, and you can move plans very, very
quickly if they'll do that.
SP We shall see.
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SG Thank you.
EM I'll second that motion.
BR Okay, so we've got a motion (inaudible)
JANUARY 19, 2011
RDK And then, could we also perhaps include that we would use the
Bookmobile as one of our alternate locations as well as partnering with our
neighboring cities' libraries and encourage...
BR Sure, could you put that into a really nice format, Mary?
JMB So we could start the communication with the other libraries by telling
them what we're going to do and see what ... not surprise them in June and
send 50 kids down there.
?? And publicize.
?? Shall we vote?
LK Approval for Bobbie's motion?
All Aye
LK Any negatives? Passed unanimously.
RDK And Madam Chair, Deborah Schwartz, Public Art Coordinator, is here, so
if you don't mind, we could see if she has anything to talk about regarding
our art piece.
DS Hi, I'm sorry I was at another meeting. There's public art in the Library.
There are several pieces. One of the pieces is behind the current
circulation desk. There are six small mosaics, I believe, behind the
circulation desk, and then there are two larger mosaics, one on either
side. They are all public art, and they are all governed by Federal and
State laws. They can't just be removed or destroyed without contacting
the artist. So I've been doing some work. Our artist has moved, got
married, changed her name ... but I finally found her, and I sent her an
email today letting her know that we are doing some growth construction
on the Library that will require the movement of the pieces. And I think
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this group, Rachelle told me earlier, spoke about doing some artwork on
the outside of the building, so we may be able to just relocate that to the
exterior of the building. At this point, because it's an actual construction
project that has a purpose, the artist can't say "my art needs to stand"
when everything else around it goes down. So we do have some leeway
to move it. She may say "I don't want it used this way" and there may be
some issues there. But we are in good faith trying to relocate the art, not
destroying the art, so I will keep all of you updated as I hear. I ran back to
my office quickly before I came here to see if she had emailed me back,
but she had not yet. But it is something that will need to go into the
consideration, but also know that there is artwork already on site that can
be moved. So just to update you on that.
RDK So we'll be in touch as we go along.
DS Excellent.
LK Anything more, Sergio?
SP No, that concludes our presentation and our update today.
LK Thank you so very much.
SP Thank you for your time and your patience in having us again.
For purposes of clarification, the motion was to direct that: 1) The Palm Desert
Library be closed for the duration of construction; 2) consideration be given to
contacting the Division of State Architect to request that they fast track their review and
approval of the construction plans; 3) adult and children's programs be continued as
much as possible, utilizing the Bookmobile as one of the alternate Library locations as
well as partnering with the libraries in neighboring cities; 4) residents be alerted of the
Palm Desert Library closure well in advance and that they be encouraged to utilize other
neighboring libraries and County branch libraries during this construction period.
With Committee concurrence, the report was received and filed.
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VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS
A. Council Liaison
Mayor Benson noted that she would share the Library schematics
with the rest of the City Council.
Ms. Klassen added that this would go to the City Council once it
gets to the next step, probably in March.
B. Librarian
Ms. Kays noted that the Library and its events was promoted on
Facebook and Twitter; in fact, she had recently spoken with a
representative of Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, and the
Congresswoman was following the Palm Desert Library on Twitter.
She distributed the Library statistics for the months of November
and December 2010, noting the numbers were similar to those of
previous years. She said circulation may be less this year because
the book budget was less.
Barbara Howison, Deputy Administrator, County Library System,
said the increase in circulation for 2008 and 2009 could possibly be
due to Cathedral City residents using the Palm Desert Library while
the Cathedral City Library was being repaired after the fire in early
2008.
Ms. Kays noted that the Palm Desert Library was still #2 in the
County behind Temecula, whose December circulation was 52,000.
C. Special Events Coordinator
Ms. Stewart reported on various events:
Film Screening — 150 people attended "The 800 Mile Wall" film
screening on January 18th.
Bob Allen Concert — 140 people attended this January 18th concert.
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Chef at the Library Series — Last week's event was "Salsa Dawg"
and "Gadget Gal" from Kitchen Kitchen, and 106 people attended.
She noted that her phone was very busy with people making
reservations for the remaining Chef Series and concerts. In
addition, "T is for Tuesday" was starting to take off. She distributed
copies of the January adult calendar and the January/February
children's and young adult calendar.
Ms. Kermode expressed concern that information about many of
the Library activities was put in the newspaper the day of the
activity, and people could miss out on the events if they didn't read
the paper in the morning. Ms. Stewart responded that she was
working with The Desert Sun to advertise the events; in addition,
they were included in many of the weekend issues where upcoming
events are listed. Ms. Kays had also appeared on several radio
shows to promote these events, and this had been very well
received by patrons.
D. Volunteer Coordinator
Ms. Strain reported the following:
Volunteers: 55 for November, 47 for December
Hours: Dropped by 136 between November and December
Homebound: Shut-ins 7 in November, 6 in December
Visits: 10 in November, 8 in December
Items delivered: 41 in both November and December
She noted she had two new volunteers in December and one
young adult, and she already had three new volunteers so far in
January. She said Jean Stone, the Public Relations person at
Atria, indicated there were 12-15 new residents. They were having
a dinner for these new residents, and Ms. Stone was going to
introduce them to the homebound program.
E. Friends of the Palm Desert Library
Ms. Beasley distributed copies of the Annual Financial Report for
the Friends of the Palm Desert Library for January 1, 2010, through
December 31, 2010. Income for the bookstore was approximately
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the same in 2010 as in 2009. She said membership dues
envelopes would be mailed out this week.
F. Committee Chair
None
G. Committee Members
None
H. Staff
Selection of Budget Subcommittee for Fiscal Year
2011 /2012
Ms. Klassen noted that the City was starting its budget
planning process for Fiscal Year 2011/2012. Staff was
thinking things were looking good until the Governor
released his budget proposal, which does not bode well for
the City of Palm Desert or any city in California. She asked
for two volunteers from this committee to work on the Library
budget. She said it was not expected that any funds would
be added to the budget, and staff would recommend that the
Library budget be maintained at its current level and not be
lowered.
Member Manor and Vice Chair Rosenberg volunteered to
serve on the Budget Subcommittee.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Member Beasley moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:25 p.m. Motion was
seconded by Vice Chair Rosenberg and carried by a 6-0 vote of the Committee.
�J
Mary P. LaCro , R cording Secretary
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