In its latest effort to find a suitable site for a new south branch library, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control is planning to contract with a real estate broker. Library Director Spencer Watts says his staff is preparing documents to present to the board later this month that will enable the process to go forward.
The library board has been on a quest for years to develop a new south branch that has so far proved fruitless. The library was originally to have been located at Rouzan, a traditional neighborhood development off Perkins Road. But the library board ended negotiations with Rouzan developer Tommy Spinosa in 2013 after failing to come to terms with him over certain provisions in the contract.
In early 2014, the board spent nearly $10,000 on a site-selection firm that identified several potential locations for the library. But Watts says none of the sites, most of which were located around Burbank and Nicholson Drives, was a good fit for the proposed branch.
“There has been a reluctance to go into those sites because of what kind of surrounding developments might go in there,” Watts says. “The board didn’t want us to build a branch library that would be surrounded by giant apartment complexes or condos.”
Watts says the idea behind contracting with a real estate broker is to help the board find potential branch sites that are not actively being listed for sale or lease. The broker will work on commission and will not be paid a fee until a site is secured.
The ongoing search for the south branch site comes as the library board is preparing to ask the Metro Council to place on a ballot a controversial millage increase. The library system currently benefits from a 10.78-mill dedicated property tax, which generates about $40 million a year. If placed on a ballot by the Metro Council and approved by voters, the millage would be raised to 11.1-mills. Several Metro Council members have said they approve of the increase, while others have questioned the need for it. The library system currently has a reserve account that has grown to about $57 million.
—Stephanie Riegel
