Why Should We Build a Library-Event Center in MLK Park?
An Insider’s View
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
Guest Columnist – Nancy Miles
Friends of mine are walking door to door with a petition they would like you to sign. That petition would prevent the City from building a library in Martin Luther King, Jr., Park.
I was approached by one such friend, who was unaware that I was involved in the long and thorough process that resulted in the Library Task Force report to the City Commission with a unanimous recommendation for a new library at MLK Park.
Reaching the Conclusion – We Need a New Library
The Library Task Force represented a wide range of constituents and viewpoints. We started out with very different ideas about whether we even needed a new library. Many thought the existing library could be rebuilt.
I was in the “didn’t-need-too-much-convincing-to-rebuild” camp early, because I have spent time in our library and have seen how cramped and inflexible the building has become. Anyone who has tried to find a quiet work spot knows what I mean.
Once we saw solid reasons why a retrofit would not work, we all had different ideas about where a new library should be sited.
Long Search for a New Home
When we got to the “find-the-best-location” stage, we again had widely differing preferences. My choices, City Hall or the Post Office, turned out to not be best. The City Hall site could work if the whole block was available, but it is not. The US Postal Service’s demand for a new distribution center made that choice too expensive. The other sites we looked at were either not available or were unworkable.
I was part of the Task Force sub-group that studied the Civic Center site. When we looked at adding a library there, we saw a great opportunity.
Combined Facility = Smaller Footprint
Our original mission had not included looking at a rebuild of the Civic Center, but those of us on the Civic Center sub-group saw a building in need of rehab. When the Commissioners sent us back to look at combining the library with the Civic Center, it began to make a lot of sense.
Combining the library and event center would result in a smaller footprint than a library added to the Civic Center. The new dual-purpose building would be an efficient and beautiful use of that corner of the park. The result would be a beautiful, exciting space in our city.
After many months of study and discussion, the Task Force, as a whole, was able to take a unanimous proposal to the Commission for a combined library and events center in MLK Park.
The voters agreed and passed the referendum.
. . . and the Future of the Existing Library?
Now it is time to choose the best design for our library and event space. We also need to talk about what to do with the existing library. I hope we keep it for future civic use, but that will be a long discussion – a discussion in which I hope my politically active friends will be very involved.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
“I Can Hardly Wait”
The Winter Park Public Library has been an important part of our lives ever since Polly and I moved here nearly forty years ago. We remember the original wood building next to All Saints on Interlachen, and we were among those volunteers who helped the library move all those books to its new home in 1979.
From “Hush . . .” to the Liveliest Place in Town
Happiest of all have been the years of admiring the creative new ways our library has served the community. When we first knew it, the library was primarily a repository for books, and the byword was “Hush . . ..” Now it is the liveliest place in town. Have you seen those trees created out of discarded plastic bottles, representing world religions? Are you one of the thousands of learners who has attended one of the 700+ classes and discussions? Have you ridden one of the bikes, perhaps the tandem? Have you checked out an iPad? Have you tended to the plants?
Younger folks would describe today’s library as a “happenin’ place.” But we are running out of space, out of ways to make “happenin'” things happen, out of the cyber technology to support and advance what our patrons want and need.
21st Century Opportunity
Now we have the opportunity to carry this spirit into the 21st Century with an exciting new library — designed with more room for books, study, creative activities (like Makerspaces), adaptable areas. Each a doorway to the future.
The prospect of a new, flexible facility, designed to accommodate needs we can’t even imagine, is truly exhilarating, especially in the setting of Martin Luther King Park. How exciting to imagine a place in Winter Park where we all can be a part, not only of the past and the present, but of a future we can hardly imagine.
“I Can Hardly Wait for Move to MLK Park!”
The workshops and discussions over the past two years have engaged us all in the excitement of new ideas, new designs, and new opportunities. Sam Stark and his Task Force have done a superlative job of exploring alternatives and “making the case.” Most of all, they have considered various locations and unambiguously selected the northwest corner of Martin Luther King, Jr., Park. I can hardly wait!
The recent vote proclaims that the community can hardly wait, either.
Let’s Embrace the Future. No More Fights.
Then along comes a political PAC, stirring up a bunch of people, including some of my good friends. And suddenly I dread that we are headed back to the dog park days, where it seemed that everyone, also including lots of friends, was mad.
Oh, please, let’s not have another ugly fight. The vote is history. Now let’s have the fun and excitement of working with architects, designers, librarians, and educators to build a library which will be the pride of Winter Park and the envy of other communities.
I am confident that our new library will be a rich resource, reflecting Winter Park’s historic dedication to new ideas and forward thinking.
Let’s Get On With It
And I have no doubt that it will breathe new life into Martin Luther King Park, which is a lively place on its playing fields but pretty quiet and empty at its north end. Our new library will not only enrich and enhance our lives but will also provide new opportunities for all of us to enjoy and appreciate Martin Luther King Park.
We’ve had our vote and we know its outcome. Now let’s get on with it.
Editor’s Note: Seymour was president of Rollins from 1978 to 1990 and continued to teach English there until 2008. He has been a member of the Library Board and served as its Chairman 1996-98.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.”
Albert Einstein
Winter Park values its library and agrees, in principle, with the objective of creating a relevant 21st-century facility. Similarly, the Rachel Murrah Civic Center is beloved, but as currently configured, is said to no longer serve today’s needs.
The proposed “fix’ for these venues is to abandon the existing library and demolish the Civic Center to create two new buildings and a garage on park land at a cost to the taxpayers of $43 million ($30 million bond plus approximately $13 million in interest).
Win or Lose?
When Winter Park citizens are faced with decisions, too often their choices are structured as “win or lose,” which has the effect of pitting friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor and half the city against the other half. The winners gloat over their victory, earning the enmity of the losers. This paradigm is evident in the current Library and Civic Center bond issue, where the vote passed by a razor-thin margin.
Or Win – Win?
However, there is another approach to problem solving that mitigates the enmity and disarray resulting from a win-lose paradigm. A “win–win” approach accommodates all stakeholders, creating a result where everyone benefits, but not through another’s loss. Although no one gets it all, all the participants benefit in one way or another.
At the informational Library meetings I attended, Winter Park Public Library Executive Director Shawn Shaffer and City Manager Randy Knight discussed the shortfalls of the existing facilities and proposed what was necessary to create 21st- century venues. By applying a win-win approach, those expressed needs might be accomplished as follows.
New Building on Current Library Site
First, construct a new four-story building on the site of the current Library parking lot. The first and second floors of this building would provide parking, and the third and fourth floors would satisfy the need for additional meeting space and would contain up-to-the-minute technology. The new building would be connected to the original building via one or more walkways and would contain an elevator that could accommodate a gurney in the event of a medical emergency.
Reading Areas for Children
Once the new building has been completed, begin modification on the original Library building. Ms. Shaffer frequently spoke of requests for child-friendly areas. Turn the entire first floor into a Children’s Area. It has adequate space to accommodate children’s needs and is already computer ready. After the completion of the first floor, the second and third floors could be updated.
One benefit is that the Library could remain open during construction of the new building and renovation of the original building. An additional benefit might come in the form of an agreement between the Library and the Alfond Inn, allowing the Inn the use of the garage after Library closing hours in return for payment to the Library, which would provide income to the Library.
Civic Center: More Important Than the Library?
The morphing of the site description from “Civic Center” to “Events Center” and the repeated calls for a venue accommodating 400-500 people has some of us believing that the perceived need for a new Events Center and parking garage is greater than that of the Library.
However, in a “win-win” approach, the remedy for the stated inadequacies of the current Rachel Murrah Civic Center seems neither impossible nor even difficult. Using a portion of the bond money, the Civic Center could be upgraded by modifying the interior space to create multiple sized spaces and a beautiful new front entrance opening onto the park, and upgrading the parking. With only the Civic Center building on the site, it might even be possible to downsize the garage, thus creating a scale more in keeping with the park.
Over the years in Winter Park, there have been many calls for more civility, for bringing the community together and for ending the hostility that has resulted from the many battles over issues. Hasn’t Winter Park had enough of “win-“lose”?
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
While there is a well-established need, either for a new library building or a major renovation to the current building, the process that got us to this point was flawed and has created confusion and uncertainty. But, that is water under the bridge. It is no longer about process. It’s about what our community needs.
WP Library Ranking Plunges
Winter Park residents have only limited access to the Orange County Library system. Years ago, we decided to go it alone. We have built a proud tradition of an independent not-for-profit library that is partially supported by the city. From 2001 to 2006, our library was the highest ranked in Florida. But that was a decade ago. Now, newer Florida libraries have passed us by.
Initially I was concerned about the selection of Martin Luther King, Jr., Park for a new library. I thought, “Too far out of downtown,” and “Park land should not be built upon.” I did some research and visited a new state-of-the-art library in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Eye-Opening Trip to Iowa
Cedar Rapids Public Library
With a population of 126,000, Cedar Rapids’ library is larger than we need, but it boasts the amenities we need on a smaller scale. The Cedar Rapids Library opened my eyes to what a library can be and how the space can be arranged to fill many needs and inspire minds of all ages. I realized our current library could never provide the opportunity to create a facility of this caliber. Renovation dollars thrown at it would just be ‘good money after bad.’
Most Oft-Used Public Facility
The Winter Park library is our most visited public building, receiving about 600 visitors a day. Although it is close to Park Avenue, many visitors still drive there, and frequently they have trouble finding parking. If you do walk, it is nine minutes from the SunRail Station. The MLK Park location would only add an additional four minutes. Buses are available to both locations.
Needs More Than Cosmetic Surgery
Our current building is a dysfunctional embarrassment. When the third floor was tacked on 20 years ago, the design for the stairs was compromised. The elevator cannot hold a gurney so, in an emergency, a patient would have to be hand-carried down steep stairs. The building needs rewiring, and the cramped bathrooms do not meet current code. The history collection is not protected with climate control and is not fully accessible. Too many still-current books must be cycled out, youth activities are restricted and meeting space is limited.
Modular Storage, Cedar Rapids
Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapid’s library has numerous spaces that attract widely diverse groups, and the roof top garden is a revenue- generating event venue overlooking a park. Their children’s area is almost the size of our whole first floor. Their café is a popular gathering place.
Go-To Place for Technology
A fair number of Winter Park residents do not have internet access, so our library is the go-to place for job hunting, research and staying in touch with grandchildren. A new facility might include visualization and incubator labs where students, artists and startup businesses could access evolving technology such as 3D printers. Can you think of any place other than a library that would offer free or low cost public access to this kind of technology?
Revitalize MLK Park
The new building in MLK Park will use only an additional one-quarter acre of park space. That equals a parcel 100′ X 108′, which is smaller than most home lots in Winter Park. The area not used for playing fields and playgrounds is underused. Locating a combined library-civic center there would attract many people to these under-utilized areas. Meanwhile, the lake edge setting is dramatic, engaging and ripe with outdoor educational opportunities. A library in that location would better serve the West Side community, which used to have a branch library in the old community center.
‘Downtown’ Has Grown Beyond Park Ave.
Our downtown used to be only Park Avenue, but now it has expanded to include Hannibal Square and even Winter Park Village. Downtown is expanding as our city continues to evolve. The Civic Center, which is already on park land, is undersized, outdated and ready for a major rehab. Save those renovation dollars and use them for a combined, more efficient structure.
Our choice is clear.
Renovate two structures, and still fall short of our needs? Or, build one well-designed, architecturally significant facility designed for the future, with a parking deck softened by vegetation that would screen park and library users from the new commercial development along 17/92?
We should be thinking, not of the kind of library we have used for generations, but of the kind of library today’s youth will be using 10 or 20 years from now. Vote for a library that young people can use now and into the future.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
On March 1, 2016, a friend used her cell phone to video this statement from Winter Park resident and community leader Mary Daniels. The woman sitting beside Ms. Daniels is Dottie Collier, also a Winter Park resident who is very involved in her community.
In a letter to the Voice, Ms. Daniels stated: “These are the “Views of Mary Daniels” on the February 10th Debate at the Winter Park Community Center, which two candidates chose not to attend and share their Views with the citizenship present at that Debate.
“My Views would be the same of all candidates who did not feel that the citizens/residents who they are promising to represent did not deserve to hear the Views from all the candidates! Some citizens were not able or available to attend the other debate sites!”
Voters Speak Out: We’re Better Together, Winter Park
Come March 16th, We’ll Still Be Neighbors
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
C. Dawson Wrote:
I just want to live in a town where everyone wants the same thing: safety for children, protected natural beauty, beloved elderly who don’t suddenly disappear or are moved away, creative options for education, clean water, and harmony amongst residents. I don’t care what it costs, but I pray it doesn’t break me, and I’m willing to put in sweat equity to have it. I wish for manners and decorum in government and elections, respect for neighbors, mindfulness during trash days, and people who come together when one of their own is in strife or, and if, a giant team effort is needed on some level…that’s what I want. A patriotic, home-spun fourth of July. I want to be part of that, and up until now I thought I was, right here in Winter Park. I’m so tired of everybody fighting.
I grew up in Carmel, California. Beautiful. Sublime. Creative. And believe it or not, pretty run-down from all the salt and all the storms. Incredibly interesting. Ramshackled. Now, spec homes, greed without care, leaf blowers everywhere on every day of the week. Tasteless art galleries and tee shirt shops. Good luck finding that eccentric sculptor in the bark-sided studio. Carmel is ruined.
Then I lived in Aspen for eight years. Rustic, interesting, athletic, reverent toward nature, muddy in springtime, everyone just getting by just to be there, just to get out and get going in it, in any way possible. Now Aspen is sanitized, sleek, chic, Banana Republic and so many empty homes and movie-star clubs named after wild animals that have disappeared from Pitkin County all together. There is literally no local life…few resident children…no Halloween, and no communal core. But you can pay ten dollars for coffee with your paper in the morning, which is novel.
And now Winter Park. It used to be the train going through the park and the flattening of pennies, Dinky Dock and learning to swim, running down to Park Avenue for a coconut ice cream at Thomas Sweet. Everyone valued the history of the groves, the sight of the ibis and sand hill crane pairs, the sound of the church bells drifting over the houses on Sundays. Grilling out on a hot summer evening, an otter riffling the tall grass, and sprinklers punctuating nightfall. Finding the sandy white bottom of the lake with your friends, and watching the pink light of evening deepen across the lake and over Rollins chapel.
What has happened to us? We are fighting and clawing, trying to hold on, yet Hell-bent on change. Let us not ruin this lovely little town in the process, people. This village we, and our children, love so much. Let’s remember the one thing that is always, no matter what, true: we’re better together. We really are. You will blink, and we will have lost our little town forever. The dream? Gone. Can we let that happen? But it’s happening right now.
Trust me, I know this to be true. I have lived it twice already. Carmel. Aspen. Where next, Winter Park? While the outside pushes us in, while we begin the process of being overrun because of our beauty, and whilst we learn to navigate and share this unique gem of which we all are so blessed to be a part, please remember her dignity. You will blink, and our Winter Park will be gone. We must be careful. We must protect her. And above all, that one incredible concept that seems to be slipping away: COMMUNITY. We are better together, Winter Park. We are truly, despite our differences, so much better together.
C Dawson
March 2016
John Skolfield wrote:
I was born in Winter Park in 1960. I have an office downtown and a home a few blocks away. I, too, love our city.
While the following statement likely precludes me from a career as a political consultant, I believe all four of our city commission candidates love our city as well. To further damage my prospects as an aspirant for such a career, I believe they are all honorable people.
Our political penchant for casting aspersions, a sport of sorts, is no more acceptable due to its ubiquity. First and foremost, we should be grateful that all four candidates are willing to run and give of their time. These individuals bring common gifts to the table — gifts of time, wisdom, and experience.
Other gifts, which one should weigh in reaching their decisions, are decorum, the ability to listen and understand, confident leadership, the ability to collaborate, general communications skills and a willingness to devote time to the subject at hand.
After evaluating these skills, it’s my opinion that the course a particular candidate is likely to chart should be evaluated. Winter Park has choices, choices of which two of these four candidates will be casting votes on our behalf.
Kind honorable people can have heartfelt views on many critical issues facing the city, and they can be diametrically opposing views. Trees, undergrounding electric, new library, development, density are a few of the very important issues.
This Winter Park native hopes the voters will accept the honorability litmus test, evaluate the performance skills and then weigh in on the likely direction your candidate will steer the ship.
Should our electorate apply this process, Winter Park will be well served.
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Friends of mine are walking door to door with a petition they would like you to sign. That petition would prevent the City from building a library in Martin Luther King, Jr., Park.
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