LAKEPORT, Calif. – In January the Lakeport City Council is expected to consider a final report on possible future uses for the city's beloved Carnegie Library building.
Earlier this year, the Lakeport City Council approved hiring San Francisco-based Garavaglia Architecture to conduct a reuse feasibility study of the 96-year-old building.
The study was paid for by a $5,000 Hart Family Fund for Small Towns grant through the National Trust for Historic Preservation grant the Lakeport Main Street Association received in 2013. The city gave $5,000 in matching funds.
In recent years, the building has been used mostly as offices and storage space for the city of Lakeport, which owns the building.
However, the city is now looking at new ways to utilize the building and, in so doing, make needed repairs and upgrades.
At its Dec. 10 meeting, the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee reviewed the report, according to Chair Wilda Shock.
LEDAC has been involved in the process of considering future uses for the building, including ways to enhance it and Library Park as greater public attractions.
Shock said the report is expected to be presented to the Lakeport City Council in January, probably at its Jan. 20 meeting.
“Next steps will be up to them, pending availability of funds,” said Shock.
A long history of service
Lakeport's Carnegie Library, designed in the “Classical Revival” style, was built between 1917 and 1918 with an $8,000 grant the community received in 1914 from Scottish steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
Carnegie's grants built 1,679 public libraries across the United States from 1883 to 1929, according to the report.
In offering communities the grant funding, Carnegie required that they provide suitable library sites and continuously support the library through tax funds.
The Web site, http://www.carnegie-libraries.org/ , reports that 144 Carnegie libraries were built across California.
Of those, 57 of the historic buildings have been demolished, the site reported.
According to an account of the library's history written by Jan Cook, a group of Lakeport residents formed a committee in 1906 to look for a location for a new library building, opening the city's first library the following year across from the old courthouse in the Levy Building's Board of Trade room.
However, Cook recounted that the library outgrew that space by 1913, so the Ladies' Improvement Club Library Committee submitted the Carnegie Corp.'s “Schedule of Questions” in an effort to secure a grant for a new library.
In November 1914, Lakeport – then a town of 870 residents – received the $8,000 grant, according to Cook.
The Carnegie Library would remain the city's main library building until the library was moved to a new location on N. High Street in 1985, at which time the building's ownership was turned over to the city of Lakeport.
Cook's in-depth history of the building can be found at http://bit.ly/1nebgCF .
Many factors to consider
Because of its age, community importance and its placement on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places in April 2008, future uses of the library have to be guided by a number of factors.
Those include community input as well as new buildings codes, and laws governing the uses and renovations of such historic buildings, specifically, the US Secretary of the Interior's guidelines for historic properties.
Architect Mike Garavaglia and his staff had a kickoff meeting with stakeholders in April, conducted assessments of the building and also led a visioning working in June at Lakeport City Hall to get community input on plans for the building.
“Fortunately, there is much interest within the community for developing the library building for a new use,” the report states, with some of the suggestions from the June workshop including an event and meeting venue, visitor center, and a location for displays and education about the county's history and environment.
During the June visioning meeting, Garavaglia and his staff reported that the building, despite its age, was in relatively good shape, although it needed some repairs, as there are exterior cracks, deterioration of the wood windows and trim, and failing plaster on the second floor ceiling.
The result of Garavaglia's work is the 57-page report, which looks in detail at the conditions and potential uses for the building, which has approximately 2,360 square feet of usable floor area on both floors.
Among the main issues facing the building is flooding. The report notes that the building has flooded several times during its lifetime.
Suggestions include the costly option of lifting the building, limiting uses to the first floor that flooding would minimally impact or modifying first floor entrances so that “that they are easily sealed, preventing water infiltration.”
The report estimates that a significant upgrades to the building could range between $400,000 to $800,000 “depending on public of private bidding requirements, prevailing wage issues, extent of work completed on the structure,” and other factors.
One upgrade priority would be making the building compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the document notes.
“The way to achieve this goal with minimal disruption of the historic fabric is to install an Article 15 lift” – which is a limited use limited access elevator – at an estimated cost of $100,000, according to the report.
In order to move forward on upgrading the building and putting it to new uses, the Garavaglia report offers several options.
The options include the city pursuing a long-term land and building lease – from 10 to 25 years – for the library.
“Once the lease has been established, the development of the Library building can begin as the developer has stable control of a building and can justify investment in the project,” the report explains. “The City would maintain ownership and receive a stipend. The developer, who takes the risk, will make most of the profit. This stipend-profit mix will vary based on risk, as well as the City's ability to fund the library's rehabilitation.”
Another option is a city “sponsored” development proposal, in which the city would make a request for developers which would also include a public benefit, such as a meeting space.
There also is the “community-initiated development” option.
“If the City cannot or will not initiate and complete the development of the building, the community may determine that assuming the responsibility is a viable option,” the report explains.
This option suggests community fundraising and the creation of a legal entity to complete the project.
“It would not be uncommon for a business improvement organization to lead this process,” the report said, noting that Lakeport “has several successful examples of community-initiated and community-supported development.”
The Garavaglia report notes that renting the building and ongoing property management will be necessary.
It estimates that the library could bring in $2,875 monthly in rent, for an annual income of $34,500, which can be used to financial the building's rehabilitation and management.
In addition, another $8,400 to $16,800 annually could be raised through renting the building for monthly events.
A three- to five-year timeframe suggested during the June visioning workshop “could bring any proposed project to completion during the Centennial year of the Lakeport Carnegie Library, which is in 2018.”
Next steps the report proposes include:
– Finalization of no more than three uses for the building that have community support and bring in no less than $3,125 monthly in rents.
– Development of community partnerships and potential funding sources.
– Review of the building's current conditions with a structural engineer to determine what, if any, seismic repair work will be required.
– Review of the current conditions of the building with a consultant specializing in compliance with the Americans for Disabilities Act to determine required work.
– Review of the current conditions at the rear with a geotechnical engineer, to determine if lifting the building to eliminate the risk of flooding is feasible as well as to determine the work required in installing a patio or deck on reclaimed land.
– Consideration of a request for developers for public proposals.
Public access is the main issue that must be addressed, according to Shock, who added that City Manager Margaret Silveira has identified a possible source of funds to cover the limited use limited access lift that the project is proposing.
Shock said she's planning to recommend that the city hold another public workshop regarding potential uses once the library's access issue is determined.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Lakeport Carnegie Library Feasibility Study72014104211PM by LakeCoNews