Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Public Libraries - Are they going private?

From the Idaho Statesmen:

BoDo developer Mark Rivers began marshaling his forces Tuesday in a bid to sell Boise Mayor Dave Bieter and Capital City Development Corp. on his $130 million Library Blocks neighborhood development.

At a breakfast with Downtown business leaders, Rivers asked for their support in building the "political momentum" needed to overcome civic leaders' caution and propel his vision for a new Downtown urban neighborhood consisting of homes, stores and offices, plus a new $42 million public library. Construction of the library would be privately financed.

The building would be sold to CCDC, the city's urban renewal agency, which would then lease it to the city for almost $2 million a year. Government watchdog Dave Frazier has labeled the plan unconstitutional and compared it to "a man that buys City Hall, then offers to lease it back to the city."

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