City tells library that repairs, not just roof tarps, needed at shuttered Lakewood site

The Pierce County Library System’s Board of Trustees has given approval for administrators to sign a ground lease for an interim Lakewood branch. Plans call for a modular building to be installed at an estimated cost of $3.5 to $4 million.

The location of the interim site will be announced once a lease is signed, Mary Getchell, communications director for the system, told The News Tribune via email in response to questions following Thursday’s board meeting.

Lakewood library patrons lost access to their branch when the library system closed earlier this year because of what officials have called desperately needed repairs.

The status of the old building remains a problem for the library board, which recently received an updated and higher estimate for making repairs and a letter from the city of Lakewood about the condition of the 59-year-old structure.

Rafik Gindy, the city’s building official, stated in the letter that the library system’s use of tarps placed on the roof of the former library was not “in accordance” with a cited international building code. The letter stated it was not an “approved roofing coverings material” and to be considered only a temporary measure.

Dave Bugher, assistant city manager and community and economic development director for the city, told The News Tribune on Friday details had been slim when it came to the library system’s plans for the shuttered structure.

“To the city, that is as important as what you’re planning to do with a new library if you choose to build it,” Bugher said.

Library system officials said Thursday they were under the impression the tarps were sufficient.

“We work with a professional company who has tarped roofs and worked on roofs for 35 years who have indicated they’ve never had to apply for a permit before,” Gretchen Caserotti, executive director for the library system, said at the board meeting.

Building troubles

The former home to the system’s Lakewood branch was closed in June after estimated costs to repair the site’s structural issues were deemed too high. Architects and engineers earlier had determined the building is in dire need of repairs to its roof and substandard plumbing.

At Thursday’s meeting, library officials noted that estimated repair costs had spiraled to $22 million, from initial estimates of $10 million to $15 million. The amount could go higher after the system receives an engineering report on any hazardous materials to be addressed, such as asbestos or lead paint.

Trustees also discussed the Sept. 19 letter from the city.

The letter said tarps were only allowed for a limited period.

“The temporary measures shall be limited as to time of service, but shall not be permitted for more than 180 days,” it stated. “The tarp installation will be allowed for 90 days from the date of this letter. The library can request an extension for additional 90 days. The extension shall be requested in writing and a justifiable cause demonstrated.”

“At the end of 90 days from the date of this letter, the library or library authorized agent shall apply for building permits for repair of the roof,” it added.

The letter further explained that if the library did not move forward in roof repairs, the city “could proceed with enforcement action, including abatement ...”

It added that any abatement would be considered a last resort.

“I remain hopeful that the city and the library district can work out a solution,” Gindy wrote.

Caserotti told trustees Thursday the library system was seeking more information “to better understand this letter.”

“We notified the city of our intentions and were not informed that we needed to apply for a permit to tarp the roof,” Caserotti added. “So we have a lot of questions ourselves about why this particular action is initiating a formal notice of this significance. I don’t have a good answer, because I don’t know myself.”

Bugher offered more clarity about the letter and what prompted it when contacted Friday by The News Tribune.

“They did not technically receive a notice of violation,” Bugher said. “They received an email from the building official letting them know that they needed to take some sort of action, and that we were willing to work with them.

“We gave them direction to fix the problem,” he added.

Bugher said the letter was the result of concerns over the property and lack of any details on how the library system would move forward in its repairs.

”My staff, and community economic development department, which includes the building division, had been monitoring the status of the library building,” he said. “And we’ve heard lots of things about alternate sites for a new library. But we haven’t heard very much about what they’re going to do to the existing library.”

“And then we found out that they were going to put on tarps on the building,” he continued. “And we received reports before that the condition of the roof was very poor.”

He said a conversation between library officials and city staff who visited the site ensued, with questions posed to the library officials as to what the long-term plans were for the site and how the roof would be repaired.

“There wasn’t much of an answer,” he added.

Hence the follow-up letter.

“I thought this was a good-faith measure to get them moving on this issue, because if we don’t bring it to their attention, my feeling is that building will continue to deteriorate, and then we’re going to have more significant issues,” he said.

“I’m treating the library like I would any other property owner,” he added. “I’m just afraid that they’ll spend a lot of time on a new location, but there needs to be a discussion about the old building.”

Getchell, when asked Friday if the library system had considered an option such as demolition, replied via email.

“The city and the library created a Community Advisory Committee to determine how to provide quality library services in Lakewood and Tillicum,” she wrote. “Until the committee completes its review and makes a recommendation to the Library’s Board of Trustees and the City Council, the Library System is making no further repairs on the Lakewood Library.

“The Board of Trustees will make a determination on next steps following the committee’s recommendation, which is scheduled for Nov. 17 – that’s the date for the recommendation,” she added.

Library administrators plan to meet with city officials next week.

New interim site in works

After the vote approving moving forward on a lease, Caserotti said “the action the board has taken will initiate a planning process. So the library administration will have more information to share in the coming weeks about what this action means and with more details about that plan.”

There were details included in a memo from Caserotti to the board included in Thursday’s meeting agenda packet.

She wrote that over the past four months, “efforts to negotiate a lease for an existing structure to perform tenant improvements have so far been unsuccessful.”

She cited a lack of available properties “that meet our zoning, code, and use requirements and property owners who are willing or interested in leasing as a public library.”

As a result, the memo continued: “We are proposing a 7,000 to 10,000 square foot building for an interim Lakewood library facility. A modular building can be leased or purchased and if owned, the asset could be moved to a new site in the future.”

Bugher on Friday had some thoughts about future plans, noting that not just any modular building would do.

“It is subject to the subarea plan, which has very specific standards for design,” he said, “and I’ve let them know that.”

He added, “If the desire is just to put up a rectangular box and call that a library on a temporary basis, that’s not going to work.”