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Feature Article April 29

Feature Article June 17, 2004

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Draft report calls for massive restructuring of rural KFPL branchesRecommendations include closing Ompah, Mountain Grove, Arden, Parham and Hartington branches enhancing Sydenham and Sharbot Lake, and building a new branch in Verona

by Jeff Green

A few months ago the chair of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library board, Jim Neill, told a TV reporter that the public might be better served by enhanced libraries in Sydenham and Sharbot Lake, and the closing of smaller branches further afield. He was commenting after a Library board meeting with consultant Jim Morgenstern of DMA Consulting, who has been preparing a draft services review for the library.

At the time, Morgenstern said that it was premature to speculate on what the report might recommend.

The draft report, which was released on Monday, and one of its recommendations is the replacement of the aging Calvin Park branch in the city of Kingston.

The report looked at the ratio of library space to population and concluded that South Frontenac, with a ratio of 0.18 square feet per capita, is by far the most under-served area within the system (a ratio of 0.5 sq. feet per person is considered optimal).

It calls for replacing the 1,600 square foot Sydenham branch with a 6,000 square foot branch. the draft report envisions building a second 6,000 square foot branch in Verona, closing the 845 square foot branch in Hartington, and maintaining the Storrington branch at its current size. It proposes that the Sydenham expansion be completed first, and the building of a branch in Verona be deferred until 2008 or later. Hartington would be closed once the Verona branch is built.

In Central Frontenac, the report recommends the Sharbot Lake branch increase fourfold in size, from 1,000 to 4,000 square feet, and that the Parham, Mountain Grove, and Arden branches be closed. It envisions this process taking place between 2008 and 2010.

The report says that the North Frontenac branches in Cloyne, Plevna and Ompah do not have reasonable access to the proposed new library in Sharbot Lake. The Cloyne branch should be maintained due to the distance from other libraries, and the historic high levels of use. Plevna and Ompah however are described as not conforming to the preferred guidelines of a satellite library. Citing the 8 kilometre distance between the branches, it recommends closing the Ompah branch and enhancing the service and the hours at the Plevna branch. It recommends this process take place between now and 2007.

The report places high, medium, or low priority on all its recommendations. The new construction in Sydenham, Verona, and Sharbot Lake are listed as high priorities, while the closing of branches and the consolidation of Ompah and Plevna are all listed as medium priorities.

Central Frontenac Mayor Bill MacDonald, who is the representative of Frontenac County Council on the library board, stated categorically in April that no rural library branches will be closed, and when contacted this week he said, Im not getting too excited about this. You have to remember that this is a draft consultants report, and the main priority remains to replace the aging Calvin Park Library in Kingston. Ive said all along that the savings that would come from closing small libraries, like Ompah, would be minimal, so why would the Library board do it?

The main goal of the report is not to save money, but to enhance service. Dont forget it is a strategic report with a 20-year time frame.

MacDonald also pointed out that there will be financial implications to all of the reports recommendations that will have an effect on the City of Kingston, the County of Frontenac, and the municipalities involved. The KFPLs operations are jointly financed by the City of Kingston and the County of Frontenac according to a population-based formula. The city now pays 87% of operating costs and the County pays 13%. If all of the proposed library expansions go ahead, there will be a cost of up to $2 million in new materials to fill the expanded libraries and the annual staffing costs will also increase.

However, the buildings used by the library branches are directly provided by the municipalities where they are located. So, for example, in order for the planned library expansions in South Frontenac to take place, the township itself will have to finance an estimated $2.28 million in building projects, and Central Frontenac will have to spend an estimated $760,000 to build a new library in Sharbot Lake.

The draft final report will be discussed at public meetings scheduled for Sharbot Lake on Tuesday, June 22 at St. James Major Church at 7 pm, and on Wednesday, September 23 at 7 pm in the Municipal Council Chambers, Sydenham.

With the participation of the Government of Canada