Planned Crozet library already too small?

The Albemarle Planning Commission reviewed design plans Tuesday for a new library in Crozet estimated to cost $9.8 million, but commissioners questioned whether the library would be big enough.

“It just seems grossly inadequate,” Commissioner Calvin Morris said. “This needs to be beefed up tremendously.”

Morris said that the areas that would serve children and young adults in the 18,300-square-foot library appeared to be too small and would have too few computers. He said librarians he’s talked with in the area suggest another 10,000 square feet of space might be needed, especially considering the expected population growth in the Crozet area.

“I just think that you’re building a library that is obsolete before the first person [steps] in it,” Morris said.

Bill Letteri, the county’s director of facilities development, said that a design committee closely researched the square footage needed and also studied other libraries with close attention to the square footage of those libraries compared with the populations they serve.

Designers project that the new library would be large enough to serve the growing population in Crozet and western Albemarle County through 2026.

Though the planned building is two stories, it has not yet been determined precisely how several thousand square feet of space on the first floor would be used. The library itself would initially be on the second floor. The first floor could serve a variety of uses, such as an art gallery and community meeting space. Using the lower level for library services would require additional library workers, officials say, but the functions of the first floor could be altered if and when the library becomes too small.

Construction of the building is expected to cost about $6 million, with building design, books, furniture, computers and other technology adding to the cost.

Because of the ailing economy, the library is now expected to be complete by 2013, instead of late 2010 or 2011 as originally planned.

The new library, to be built in the heart of downtown Crozet, will be a staple in the community, planners say. Officials are planning a slew of new projects in downtown Crozet, aiming to improve the quality of life for residents and make the area more urbanized — which would also generate more tax revenue for the county.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday also discussed Places29, a 20-year plan for development areas along U.S. 29. The county outlined the first six stages of design. Judy Wiegand, an Albemarle planner who has headed the project, said that no significant changes have been made to the design stages of the plan since they were last reviewed months ago.

Wiegand said that the transportation projects would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but she declined to give a more specific estimate. She said that she wouldn’t release that figure until a meeting next month because she wants to provide an explanation of the projected costs.