New site is recommended for Arden Hills library

After reviewing input from more than 200 community members, the Ramsey County Library Board voted unanimously this week to move the Arden Hills branch to the New Brighton Community Center.

The board's recommendation now goes to the county commissioners for final approval, which county library director Susan Nemitz said will happen in October.

In 2009, the county voted to extend funding for the current library only through the end of this year because major renovations were needed.

The Library Board searched for alternative sites to house the 50,000-item collection and narrowed the choices to the one in New Brighton and Presbyterian Homes in Arden Hills. The current library, on W. County Road E2 near Mounds View High School, serves both cities.

"I think the reason the Library Board chose New Brighton is because they felt it would provide greater access to the public," Nemitz said.

The community center is within walking distance of schools, as well as senior and low-income housing, she said, and is also on two bus lines. The current library site does not have access to public transit.

According to a report prepared by Nemitz, the New Brighton plan is slightly more costly but the library could open there as early as June, a year sooner than the Presbyterian Homes plan.

City planner Meagan Beekman said the county's timeframe had been a major obstacle because the Presbyterian Homes proposal came later in the process.

"They would like to see the County Board and Library Board slow the process down to look at options that might allow the library to stay open in its current location," while proposals are considered more thoroughly, she said.