The decision to move could have still saved the town money while freeing up valuable space.
The Town Council plans to move the library to University Mall temporarily until renovations are completed, but mall managers suggested a permanent move.
After a months-long conversation, the council this week voted to keep the library at its current home in Pritchard Park.
Originally it appeared as if moving the library would save the town as much as $4 million, but estimated savings decreased when a more complete cost comparison was presented.
Moving the library might have made more sense when it looked like the town was going to save a lot of money. With possible savings reduced to only about $1.5 million and the cost of designing new plans, moving might have seemed more trouble than it’s worth.
Pritchard park is an aesthetically pleasing location that will be further improved when the expansion project is complete.
The proposed move to University Mall was an idea that never really grew into a complete and feasible plan capable of generating real savings for the town.
That being said, the decision not to move the library does nothing to mitigate Chapel Hill’s facility space shortage.
And a staff memorandum to town manager Roger Stancil noted that re-use of the current library would save the town up to $3 million in capital costs to build a similar space.
