By james art 
What you need to know about Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona’s sixth largest city, has over 200,000 residents. Its entertainment and sports facilities make it a hot spot.
The Republic
A longtime library in downtown Glendale’s Murphy Park will be torn down and its operations moved two blocks away as the city looks to create a “library for the future.”
After a lengthy discussion Tuesday afternoon, most Glendale leaders supported an $8 million plan to raze the Velma Teague Library and move its services to a city-owned commercial space and parking garage.
City officials said it will modernize and improve the services the library can offer the community. This will also save taxpayers money and can be completed alongside the renovation project for the adjacent City Hall complex.
Library advocates hoped to preserve its site in the historic park, noting that it has been a gathering place for more than a century. They also claim the city pushed through the controversial project without community support.
Removing the library was among a handful of proposals on the table for the aging structure, which is beginning to outlive its usefulness and is in need of renovation.
Initial proposals to renovate or reconstruct the facility would cost more than twice the cost of the relocation plan, according to the city.
Council members Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner were hesitant to support the plan at Tuesday’s meeting and believed there was still time for Glendale staff and the Library Advisory Board to consider additional options.
Their colleagues disagreed and argued that it was an opportunity to support youth and low-income community residents by creating a high-tech library while offering additional space at Murphy Park.
What will happen to Velma Teague’s library?
Glendale is renovating the downtown City Hall complex, which includes Council Chambers, campus parking, the E. Lowell Rogers Amphitheater and Murphy Park.
In tandem with the $90 million project, he also wants to modernize the neighboring Velma Teague.
The library was established in Murphy Park in 1917 and has been reconstructed twice, first in 1938 and again in 1971. It is not a designated historic site.
According to city officials, the building needs about $5 million in system upgrades.
Citing community feedback about the library’s conditions, the city said the trim, lighting, furniture, computer stands and restrooms are dated. Aesthetics and functionality can also be improved while classrooms are needed.
A separate survey of about 200 residents about library amenities and services also found that the library should include more space for meetings and programs, as well as special interest classes, and should include public art and art programs.
Respondents also told the city that the library lacks meeting places, after school and summer activities for children, as well as free recreational and social activities.
Earlier proposals aimed to keep Velma Teague in the park. But the city recently recommended the plan to move the library’s operations to the retail strip off Palmer and 58th avenues after a space became available.
By moving services into the 12,000-square-foot space, the city said it can modernize the library and provide desired community amenities.
Demolition of the current facility, he added, would free up space in Murphy Park, giving residents a larger area to gather.
The $8 million price tag for the project includes $1.5 million to renovate the park and $500,000 to remove the building.
According to Community Services Director Jean Moreno, the library will close for about four to six months while the city completes the project.
What else did Glendale officials suggest?
As for the other proposals, they wouldn’t begin until 2027 and would require the library to remain closed for about two to three years during construction, Moreno explained.
One option was to renovate the 15,500 square meter library. Another would have reduced the size of the building, reducing its footprint to about 9,700 square feet and creating additional space for Murphy Park.
The third proposed restoring the library at the north end of the park and keeping it at about 10,000 to 12,000 square feet.
All three are valued at nearly $18 million. Funding either of those proposals would have required the city to borrow the money through a voter-approved bond measure in subsequent years.
There was also an option, called the “zero option,” in which the city would spend $5 million this year or next to upgrade the library’s electrical, HVAC, lighting and plumbing systems.
The city called that option a “sunset cost,” although potential repairs in the future would require redesigning those systems.
Bud Zomock, a business owner who runs a downtown restaurant and store across the street from the waterfront building, was disappointed by the council’s decision because he supported plans to keep the library in the park.
“The culture and the history of it being in the park is what’s an important part of it for me,” he said.
What did city leaders say?
Glendale leaders’ direction to city staff to move forward with the relocation plan comes after the Library Advisory Board voted this month to recommend its approval.
Board members met Oct. 9 to provide feedback on the library study and research conducted on potential building designs. However, the agenda for the meeting does not mention the new proposal, nor does it state that there will be a vote.
Moreno, who led the presentation to the board tonight, explained that the board was not required to hold a vote because the city was only seeking input from board members on the way to the final recommendation.
In the end, members did hold one after one member’s motion to take no action did not receive support from his colleagues.
It was a decision some have since said they were not ready to make, according to Council members Tolmachov and Turner.
Both cited conversations with some board members who told them they were caught off guard by the vote, having first learned of the project that evening.
“He didn’t feel like he was fully briefed on the issue,” Turner said.
While not outright opposed to the relocation plan, Tolmakhov and Turner questioned whether the process was being rushed since construction on the City Hall campus won’t be done until 2026.
Tolmakhov suggested that the proposals go back to the Library Advisory Board to revise the proposal or draft others. She also asked if it was possible to retrofit the building to include the amenities and services requested by residents in the study.
In response, City Manager Kevin Phelps said the council could consider such an option. However, he added that the city will continue to seek the same costs to upgrade the building.
The rest of the council expressed strong support for the plan.
Switching to the cheapest option is in the public interest, Councilman Ray Malnar said. While it saves money, he added, the plan also gives the community a larger Murphy Park.
“We’re reclaiming the green space,” he said. “We’re getting rid of the concrete … and turning it completely into a park.”
Council member Joyce Clark echoed that sentiment, calling it a good opportunity that “fell into our lap at the right time.”
Council Member Leandro Baldenegro represents the Ocotillo Ward in Glendale, which includes the downtown corridor. Citing the “zero option,” he said he was not comfortable approving what he called a $5 million Band-Aid.
“I think it would be amazing,” Baldenegro said, “to have something state-of-the-art.”
Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.