Planning for branch libraries in Boise officially started ten years
ago, when the City Council adopted an initiative to create a Master
Library Facility Plan. Click on each year below to see more
detail, or scroll down for the full timeline.
|
September 1996 - November
1999: Community Input is Gathered as Preliminary Step to
Developing a Master Library Facility Plan |
|
September 1996 |
City Council Adopts Strategic Initiative to Create a Master Library
Facility Plan |
|
January-April 1998 |
The Library Studies and Examines the Possibility of Operating a
Public/School Library at Timberline High School, but recommends against
it, due to security issues and incompatible missions. |
|
November 1998 |
Library staff, the Library Board of Trustees, and citizens participate
in a Library Futures Conference designed to provide a vision for the
future of the Boise Public Library. |
|
September 1999 |
Mayor and Council Approve Budget Request to Retain a Library Building
Consultant |
|
October- November 1999 |
Feedback on Library Services and Needs Collected through Community
Survey |
|
2000: Consultant is
Retained to Develop Master Facility Plan, Including Additional Community
Input. Council Adopts Master Library Facility Plan
and Approves Building Four New Branch Libraries |
|
January 2000 |
City of Boise Selects PROVIDENCE Associates, Inc. to Serve as Building
Consultant to develop building program for the Main Library |
|
February- March 2000 |
Richard Waters Visits Boise and Meets with Key Community and Library
Opinion Leaders |
|
April-May 2000 |
Mayor, City Council and Library Board Retain PROVIDENCE in an expanded
role to Develop a Master Library Facility Plan |
|
April-May 2000 |
Town Meetings and Focus Groups Held to Discuss Library Planning |
|
June 2000 |
Community leaders and citizens invited to Design Charrette for Main
Library |
|
July-August 2000 |
Concept Design Ideas on Display; Building Committee Travels to Review
Branch Library and Main Library Designs in other cities |
|
September 2000 |
PROVIDENCE Releases and Presents the Main Library Building Program
Vision to the Mayor and City Council and Library Board |
|
October 2000-February 2001 |
The Library and the Parks and Recreation Department Work on
Multi-Generational Facility Concept for Northwest Boise |
|
November 2000 |
The City Council adopts the Master Library Facility Plan, but approves
plan to build four new branch libraries instead of the original
recommendation to build a new Main Library first. |
|
2001: Sites Are Approved
for Two Branches;
Architect and Engineer are Selected for Branch
Projects |
|
December 2000-January 2001 |
Site Selection Committee Chosen and Begins; Branch Library Building
Program Statements Begin |
|
April 2001 |
Two Library Branch Sites Chosen for potential purchase—one at Cole &
Ustick, and one in Southeast Boise. |
|
May 2001 |
PROVIDENCE develops 5-year Technology Plan for the Library |
|
June 2001 |
The Library Presents Operating Costs for the Southeast and West Boise
Branch Libraries to Council |
|
Summer 2001 |
Negotiations Continue on Branch Site Purchases |
|
August 2001 |
Architect and Engineer Selection Process for Branch Libraries Begins |
|
September 2001 |
RFP For Branch Library Architects/Engineers Released |
|
September 2001 |
The City Council Approves the Library’s FY02/FY03 Budget Including
Capital Costs for Branch Libraries and Operating Costs for West Boise
Branch and South East Boise Branch Libraries |
|
November 2001 |
Architects Interviewed; Trout Architects Recommended for branch
projects |
|
December 2001 |
The Library Board of Trustees and City
Council Accepts the Branch Library A/E Selection Committee
Recommendation |
|
December 2001 |
The City Council Approves the Purchase of the Cole and Ustick Site for a
New Branch Library in West Boise |
|
2002: Sites Purchased for Two Branches, But Judicial
Confirmation Looks Unlikely;
City Hall Scandal Breaks, and Project is Put On Hold |
|
January 2002 |
Branch Program Statement Drafts Continue Revisions |
|
March 2002 |
City Plans Judicial Confirmation/Validation Issue for Court |
|
March 2002 |
Cole and Ustick Property is purchased for $2,100,000 |
|
April 2002 |
The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Endorses Branch Libraries |
|
May 2002 |
Branch Building Programs are Published and Released |
|
June 2002 |
Construction Management Firm Selection Process Begins. Washington Group
International is selected. |
|
June 2002 |
The City Selects Will Bruder Architects to conduct a mixed-use design
charrette in west Boise. Area businesses, neighbors, and non-profits
are invited to attend. |
|
July 2002 |
West Boise Mixed-Use Design Charrette Conducted |
|
September 2002 |
Judge Copsey Rules Against the City’s Debt Confirmation Plan for the
Police Headquarters Facility. Contract negotiations with the A/E firms
and Construction Management firms for branch libraries are placed on
hold. |
|
September- October 2002 |
The Library Updates the Library’s Strategic Plan |
|
October 2002 |
The City Makes a Down Payment of $147,000 on the Bown Crossing Property
& Purchases the Shaver’s Property |
|
November 2002 |
Boise City Hall Scandal Breaks, and the library’s capital projects are
placed on hold. |
|
2003-2005: Project Remains on Hold Until
Revived by Board in late 2004.
Bond Election Is Proposed and Approved by Council |
|
March 2004 |
The Library Receives Donations from supporters to Complete the Bown
Crossing Property Purchase |
|
January 2005 |
The City Council votes unanimously to support the Library Board’s
recommendation to place a bond issue on the February 2006 ballot to fund
construction of three branch libraries. |
|
August 2005 |
After the annual budget process, the City Council reaffirms its earlier
vote to place a bond issue on the February 2006 ballot to fund
construction of three branch library/community centers. |
|
September- November 2005 |
A bond election campaign committee is formed.
|
|
October 2005 |
The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Reaffirms its Endorsement of Branch
Libraries. |
|
2006: Bond Fails, Despite Majority Vote. New
Options Are Explored |
|
January 2006 |
The bond election campaign kicks off at the Cole and Ustick site. |
|
February 2006 |
The neighborhood branch library bond election fails to pass, but a
majority of voters vote in favor of the bond. |
|
March- July 2006
|
City staff, the Library Board of Trustees, and City Council liaisons
agree to explore options and next steps for branch libraries and the
main library, and to update the Library Master Facility Plan. |
|
August 2006 |
Mark Rivers, developer of the downtown BoDo area, submits a proposal to
the Capital City Development Corporation that includes building a new
main library on the existing site. |
|
August – October 2006 |
A new Library Facilities Planning Committee is formed and begins to meet
to develop a branch library plan for City Council review and subsequent
public input. |
|
October 2006 |
City Council approves the Planning Committee's proposal for affordable
branch libraries - two 15,000 square foot libraries, at the Cole &
Ustick and the Bown Crossing sites; and two 7,500 square foot leased
facilities in undetermined sites on the Central Bench and Northwest
Boise. Council also approves the Committee's plan for obtaining
public input on the proposal. |
|
November 2006 - February 2007 |
Public input is solicited. |
|
Late February 2007 |
City Council members vote unanimously to approve the most recent version
of the Master Library Facility Plan, to allocate $2,519,670 for the
first stages, to proceed with lease negotiations for two leased
“storefront” facilities to open in the fall, and to begin architect and
engineer selection for a West Boise facility t0 break ground in late
2007. |
|
June 2007 |
City Council approves lease agreements for libraries at Hillcrest &
Collister Shopping Centers. Fletcher Farr Ayotte, Inc., the
architectural firm chosen for the new West Boise library at Cole &
Ustick, begins design work. |
