FARMINGTON — The Davis County Library Board has approved a plan to replace two of the county's libraries near the beginning of the next decade.
And if things work out right, North Salt Lake could see a branch of its own, as well.
The county's Headquarters branch in Farmington is aging and the Kaysville branch is on lease from Kaysville and is due to be returned to the city by 2016, said library director Pete Giacoma.
Neither library, Giacoma said, is meeting the needs of the population it serves.
In Farmington's case, a location for a library is contingent on the county's plans for developing its campus, located at the intersection of State Street and Main Street. It's the home of most county offices and the health department, but plans are in the works to expand the campus.
The library board's capital facilities plan calls for planning and projecting construction costs during 2008 and choosing an architect late in the year.
In 2009, design work should be completed on what the board projects would be a 13,500-square-foot building costing $3.5 million. Construction could start in late fall, and the library could open in fall 2010.
Around the time the new Headquarters branch opens, the library board expects to select an architect for a new Kaysville branch, which could be designed in 2011, with construction starting that fall.
The board projects building a 14,000-square-foot, $4.2 million library, which would open in 2012.
The current Kaysville library building would be turned back over to the city.
Once those two projects are completed, further plans will need to be put into place to expand the Syracuse/Northwest branch, which was built in 2003. And Giacoma says he has ongoing conversations with North Salt Lake and South Weber, which are locations of high interest.
North Salt Lake's growing population to the west could warrant a new library because those residents are somewhat distant from the South branch, located in Bountiful.
And South Weber residents, who are very far from the nearest branch, would be able to take advantage of cooperative borrowing agreement between the Davis and Weber County libraries. Weber County is currently building its Pleasant Valley branch in Washington Terrace, just a few miles from South Weber.
Giacoma wants to see what that library's impact will be and then see if a Davis County branch could offer a unique and specialized service, perhaps placing an emphasis on children's books.
Giacoma said he doesn't plan to ask for a tax increase to fund his construction projects. Instead, he reserves money each year for the future.
In 2007, he will put away about $700,000. In 2008, he'll put away about $900,000.
"We're always saving money for these projects," he said Tuesday.
And it's a good thing, too.
Construction costs have gone up 18 percent over the past year, he said, and there's no telling what costs will do by the time 2009 rolls around.
Last time the county increased property taxes for the library, in 2000, the increase made it possible to build branches in Centerville and Syracuse, as well as expand the Central branch in Layton and South branch in Bountiful.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com