DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708200421

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONI GUAGENTI, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   96 lines

BEACH SHELVES LIBRARY REFERENDUM CITY COUNCIL IS RELUCTANT TO INCREASE TAXES TO FUND IMPROVEMENTSSCHOOL BOARD ALSO WANTS TO SEND VOTERS A FUNDING PROPOSAL - FOR $63.5 MILLION.

Voters probably won't get a chance to tell city officials in November whether they're willing to pay more money for new and improved libraries.

Instead of putting the issue to a referendum vote, City Council members are saying that they would like to explore ways to build, renovate and expand services to area public libraries without having to raise real estate taxes.

That consensus began to emerge in discussions Friday at the council's annual retreat, although members must vote on the plan by Sept. 2.

``They did make the point that keeping our library system strong and moving ahead is very important to them,'' City Manager James K. Spore said Tuesday.

``They want to address that - they just don't feel a referendum right now is the way to go.''

Complicating the council's decision is a request by the School Board to ask voters in November to increase real estate taxes so that the city's eight oldest schools can be renovated.

And council members said at the retreat that the library funding issue could be solved by making it part of a regional discussion on paying for big-ticket projects throughout Hampton Roads.

All of that discussion, however, concerns library officials.

``I think it's imperative we move ahead in some fashion on the renovations and replacement facilities,'' said Library Director Marcy Sims. ``We've certainly heard from citizens that the new libraries, particularly in the Princess Anne and Green Run areas, are critically needed.

``Every year we delay puts us further and further behind.''

State Sen. Edward L. Schrock, head of the Friends of the Virginia Beach Libraries, said: ``Let the people decide; that's what this system is supposed to be about.''

System officials made two presentations to the council - one in April and one in June - on the need for a referendum.

The proposal forwarded by library officials included six options ranging from modernizing five existing libraries to replacing two aging ones and building six new facilities. Each outlines a certain level of expanded services, from new technology to increased hours and additional youth programs. Funding plans to bring the libraries into the 21st century ranged from an increase of 1.8 cents to 6.9 cents on the city's tax rate, which is currently $1.22 per $100 of assessed property value.

But city officials say they could have another plan.

Because library officials were so comprehensive in their request for a referendum, council talked about making a good faith effort in addressing the libraries' needs.

That show of goodwill could be to accelerate plans for a new library in the Princess Anne Borough, on city-owned land near the Princess Anne Recreation Center on Ferrell Parkway.

Members said it could be a facility that serves as a model for all other libraries built in the city, from the latest in technology to the services it offers.

``We have to take a direction to improve our libraries,'' said Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley. ``Clearly it's something that's important to our citizens, and we haven't been progressing as we should have.''

The proposed 18,000-square-foot library in Princess Anne had been a go five years ago, until funding became a problem. Population in the area - one of the fastest-growing in the Beach - increased by an estimated 10,000 people from 1991 to 1995, according to city statistics. The closest library to the area, which is now served by a Bookmobile, is at the Oceanfront, about 10 minutes away.

Spore said staff would explore ways to make the Princess Anne library happen. It could mean designing the library with money from this year's budget and building it with funds from next year's budget. The 1997-98 budget cycle began July 1.

Libraries, though, aren't the council's only area of concern.

The School Board asked the council two weeks ago to let voters decide whether to fund $63.5 million in renovation work at the city's eight oldest elementary schools and study renovation needs at 16 other aging schools. The work could cost taxpayers up to 3 cents more on the tax rate.

During a City Council work session Tuesday afternoon, school officials gave a presentation on the ailing condition of the eight schools in question.

Council members said they would discuss the issue at their council meeting on Aug. 26 and take a vote on whether to put the issue to the voters on Sept. 2.

Combining the library and school referendum could add $48 to $99 to the annual tax bill of a homeowner with a house worth $100,000.

But those referendums don't begin to address the schools' needs for new technology, the issue of which overlaps with the libraries' needs for updated computers and software.

Council members said they hope those issues apply to other Hampton Roads cities and might best be addressed on a regional basis.

Many said the issues of funding libraries, schools and transportation could be addressed through the Hampton Roads Partnership, which has hired a Miami-based consultant. Rick Horrow, the consultant, works with cities across the country interested in improving their quality of life and attracting new business.

Library officials are skeptical of such an approach.

``I feel that we have clearly demonstrated what Virginia Beach needs to do to maintain a quality library system,'' said Betty Bridges, head of the Library Board. ``The longer we delay, the more we're going to have to pay.'' KEYWORDS: REFERENDUM LIBRARY

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