Contact:  Joanne Hinkel

              Boise Public Library

              208-384-4372

              jhinkel@cityofboise.org 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –

City Council to Review Designs for West Boise Library

(Boise, Idaho – Sept. 06, 2007)  Boise City Council will review preliminary designs for the West Boise neighborhood branch library next week at its work session before the regularly scheduled Council meeting.  The designs will be presented by Boise Public Library Director Kevin Booe and Project Manager Rob Bousfield Tuesday afternoon, September 11, at City Hall.  Council agendas are posted at www.cityofboise.org.   

“We asked the architects to focus on several goals for the building,” said Booe.  “We wanted it to reflect the identity of the surrounding West Boise neighborhoods, and to act as a community center, welcoming and integrating the neighborhood and surrounding businesses.”

One focus of design work was to “build green.”  Preliminary designs include sustainable features for efficient use of energy and water and the use of recycled and local materials.   

"This is a very exciting project,” said Mayor David Bieter. “Not only will this be the first library that the City of Boise has built from the ground up; it will also serve as a focal point for these neighborhoods, with meeting rooms and activity programs for every age and interest. The fact that we're building 'green' makes this effort all the more significant."

The City expects to break ground at the Cole and Ustick site in late spring 2008.  The library will open in mid-2009.

Boise residents are invited to review the designs at the West Boise Neighborhood Library Design Review Open House on Wednesday, September 12.  The open house will run from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., at New Heights Christian Fellowship, 9950 West Ustick Road.  Project architects and Library and City staff will be on hand to show architectural renderings of the building exterior and to answer questions.  

The design review open house is part of a public design review process outlined by the Library Building Committee.  The process will include a series of public meetings, a liaison group of West Boise neighborhood leaders, and opportunities for online review and comment.  West Boise includes the neighborhood associations for West Cloverdale, West Valley, West Bench and Winstead Park.  

For more information about neighborhood branch libraries, please visit www.boisepubliclibrary.org, or, call Library Administration at 384-4238, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

###