Serving the communities of Council District 8
A public library is a core function of a democracy. Its location matters. Its ideal location is in the core of the town center, maximizing access by foot, transit, school bus, and private car. The library reinforces both the public realm and the commerce and enterprise that makes for a healthy town core. Disassembing that mix, spreading it along the highway is the recipe for urban sprawl. The 1996 town plan, consistent with county growth policies and the state growth management act, emphasizes the development of a walkable rural activity center with a core bounded by Ober Park to the north and the Monkey Tree to the south.
In many ways placement of the new library is a signal issue with consequences bigger than a single investment. That's why it is so important to resist a move away from the town core. This is an opportunity for institutional cooperation between taxpayer supported entities. It makes little sense to fund small town and rural protection on the one hand while at the same time encouraging sprawl inducing location decisions on the other.
Civic institutions like the library and post office belong in the center of town; private entrepreneurial activities can contribute to the adaptive use of the K2 building.
Dan Carlson
(I was a member of the town plan committee and have written about adaptive use of closed buildings. Breathing new life into the K2 buildings is a laudable goal; it just shouldn't be at the expense of undermining the health of a fragile small town core.)
The existing Town Plan defines downtown Vashon as from Cove Road to Cemetery Road. The K2 Commons property, where the expanded and improved Library would be located, is within this boundary and is less than 100 seconds driving time from Bank Road. It makes me chuckle to hear someone call this ‘urban sprawl’. As the owner of a business right smack in the middle of the Town Core, no one could have a greater interest than I in maintaining a healthy, vibrant ‘downtown’ Vashon. The medical, educational, and recreational activities planned for K2 Commons (100 seconds away), including locating the KCLS Library there, will actually provide an economic stimulus to the many businesses in the center of town. This is a tried and true economic tenet - the more good reasons people have for coming to town, the more it will benefit all businesses.
Melinda Sontgerath
If the Library cannot be in Ober Park for any reason, it should remain in the Town Core of Vashon, consistent with the Town Plan, so that it would still be accessible to the people who most depend on it. The decision as to where to site our Library should be in the hands of our community, not in the hands of a developer or two, or a bureaucrat who cares nothing for the wishes of the patrons of the Vashon Library. This is an important decision. It will affect our community and our lives for decades to come. Do we want a vibrant town center or do we want suburban sprawl along the highway? Please think about how you want your community to be as you fill out your survey.
Bonnie de Steiguer
Ober Park is the perfect place for our Vashon Library. The park is surrounded by apartment dwellers, low-income individuals and senior citizens, many of whom do not drive. Some residents depend on being able to walk to the library several times a week.
There are others in the neighborhood who drive but are committed to using fewer car-related resources. They value their ability to walk to the Library and other community services nearby. With the Library in its present location, Islanders can park anywhere in town, run errands and visit the library, all without additional driving.
The Vashon Town Plan of 1996 focuses on community services clustered together in a cohesive town core that avoids strip development and spot zoning, and makes pedestrians more important than cars. Moving the library outside of town would have a detrimental effect on the lives of many people and violate the principles of our hard-won Town Plan.
The “Library in the Park” is a dynamic and vital gathering place for people of all ages on the island. For some, it is a place to take your five-year-old to play on the swings and then find a book to read. Young people meet with friends outside on the berms, then go inside to use the library. Others drop by during their lunch breaks or wait while their car is being serviced next door, or their laundry is in the wash at the Laundromat.
On February 10, 2009, the Vashon Parks Board unanimously passed resolution (#09-010). It states:
“The Ober Park location for the . . . Library is the overwhelming preference of the Vashon Community . . . . The Vashon Park District Board of Commissioners is willing to enter into negotiations with KCLS for a long term lease of property at Ober Park on favorable terms for the purpose of building a stand alone library, remodeling the existing library, or exploring other options to facilitate the long term location of the library at Ober Park.”
This resolution clears the way for the King County Library System to expand the library in Ober Park without having to address issues such as reducing speeds on Vashon Highway, adding pedestrian crosswalks, turning lanes, sidewalks, curbs or lighting that would become necessary if the library were moved outside of town.
To ensure wise use of public funds, a healthy community and an excellent library, please choose “Ober Park.”
Bonnie de Steiguer
The library at K2 Commons provides: a ready-to-remodel structure, abundant parking, and a location easily accessible by transit, bicycle, auto and on foot. The location is in the middle of the Island and Vashon’s evolving arts and education district, including three public schools, Vashon College, Vashon Allied Arts, and The O Center. The overwhelming majority of library users come by car or bus. Access to abundant parking is excellent and K2 is on the bus line. The existing library building at Ober Park would make a wonderful ‘Civic Center’ which could serve as the home for a new Senior Center, Park District offices and more. K2 Commons, including the library, provides an economic boost to the Island. The K2 development team includes local architects, contractors, designers, lawyers and suppliers. It will provide many new living wage and managerial jobs for Island residents.
Truman O’Brien & Richard Sontgerath
For a variety of reasons, the Parks District and KCLS may not be able to reach an agreement for the library to remain in Ober Park.
If this occurs, there are other places in the town core for our library. A very suitable location is for sale right across the street from Ober Park, where Vashon Village is now. The developers of this parcel are trying to get the attention of KCLS, and have site plans drawn up showing how well the library would work there. The site has everything KCLS wants: highway frontage, good parking, easy development conditions. The Kimmco property at the south end of the town is for sale and would be another fine spot for a new library.
If Ober negotiations fail, KCLS owes it to Vashon to explore in good faith other feasible sites in the town core.
Jean Bosch
In 2004, Vashon voters approved a bond measure for a new library by a nearly 80% ‘yes’ vote. After an extensive study, King County Library System staff selected K2 Commons as the preferred location.
K2 Commons provides: an existing, ready-to-remodel structure, abundant parking, a choice location in the center of the Island, walking distance to schools, and a transit-served location on the main highway.
Following are comments from Islanders supporting the move of the Library to K2 Commons:
… excellent location for the Vashon Library…close to public schools, Vashon College…centrally located dead center in the middle of the Island. --Carl Olsen
Locating the Library at K2 Commons, we make available a new home for the Park District offices and a revitalized Senior/Community Center in the existing library building. --Emma Amiad
Having recently suffered a stroke and the challenges it brings, the library is not accessible to me. Heavy traffic congestion in town, especially during ferry times, and a parking lot difficult to maneuver, prevents me from using the existing facility. I applaud the move to K2 Commons. --Stephen Black
Moving the library to K2 will give us more room, allows us to keep the ‘Park’ at Ober Park and remedy the current parking and access problems. --Laura Weston
The conversion of K2 into an asset for the whole community is one of the best things to happen for the Island in a long time. I support … relocating the library… --Fred Sayer
I am for the move. I like what K2 commons represents … --Shelly Dillon
The K2 Commons developers have thought through how to best use the facility in ways that are complementary - not detrimental - to a vibrant Town-Center. --Jon and Shannon Flora
I am a sustainability and conservation consultant with 25 years national experience. The developers of the K2 site stand out as some of the most environmentally and socially concerned developers I have ever met. It just makes good social, ecological, and economic sense to support a project that would create new jobs, revitalize an existing building, and support many community based ventures. --Michael Laurie
The Town plan has two hubs along Vashon Highway: the main intersection at Bank Road and the intersection at Cemetery Road (‘Center’). The Library at K2 Commons is not a case of splitting the town or creating a new hub – activity at Center goes back to pioneer days. --Keith Putnam
If Islanders had imagined that the Library would be moved out of town, they would not have approved the KCLS bond measure by 80%. KCLS staff looked at K-2 because it appeared that Ober Park was not available. That situation has changed dramatically and the Park’s Board and KCLS are now talking. Ample handicapped parking is located immediately in front of the Library. In the rare cases when the Library lot is full, space is available in the Ober Park lot and on the street. This survey is not a referendum on what the K-2 developers can do with their site; it is a survey that allows Island residents to indicate their preference regarding where their library should be located. Why move the Library from a successful location that is clearly popular and in accordance with our Town Plan to a spot that is risky and introduces many potential problems?
Bonnie de Steiguer
Vashon residents crafted a Town Plan nurturing the fragile elements of walkability and density for Vashon’s commercial district. The library, the heart of Vashon’s civic life, brings people into town. Kids go to the library and the park while parents run errands. One cell phone call, and kids can meet the folks at a restaurant, Thriftway or Bob’s. Kids are safe and accounted for. Hundreds of people living near town consider the library a family room, walking over to check out a video or attend a meeting.
Sprawl is everywhere. Want to see how a town looks that is spread along a major thoroughfare? Look at Aurora Avenue. Let’s not step back into the 60’s watching our services migrate out of town. That would be bad for Vashon, bad for business and bad for the environment.
For the life and vitality of our town, keep the library in the core.
Martin Koenig