if the proposal is ready for viewing, how about posting it on the city web site and post a link here?

The Skypark town center has the presentation posted on the city site.

The fact that that it's not available online means it's not ready for prime time viewing.

That's how Reed rolls, keep it out of view then run around spending your tax money irresponsibly.

1) Put it online

2) Show us the documented suggestions that went into the current proposal.

3) Show us why you can;t do it for 1/2 the cost and save the other half for the Middle school.

4) Keep civic functions out of the revenue and tax producing Town Center. Add residential above and model after Santa Row, your experimenting with recommendations from consultants from the Mid West don't get it. Look at their economies in shambles. You should avoid the temptation form fragmenting the real advantage the city has in the town center by not diluting the revenue and tax potential. There are plenty of other spots to buy for the same about - like 7 acres next to the Hilton ad add the Library and nature center, that would cost less by half!

For all the Skypark families that send their children to the Middle School, they should be wondering why he is pushing to spend 20 million for the library.

Times have changed, Technology and cooperation among libraries serve the community when designed to do that. That doesn't cost 20 million.

I support our libraries. But I can't help but wonder why our towns and cities feel the need to build Taj Mahal's? Shouldn't the library system be streamlined, now that we can select books online and pick them up from a specified location?

Why does Scotts Valley need 13,000 sf? Why does Felton need 9000 sf?

I 'm still not sure why they are taking a revenue generating property in the heart of the town center and taking for the library where it becomes a expense, a 20 million dollar expense; especially when the voters have rejected 4 times the cost of a new fire station at ballot, as well as the urgent need of the leaking roofs of the middle school, that was rejected as well - too much! or the budget ax that has sidelined Teachers and increased the number of children in the classrooms. Here is the real need of the money.

According to today's Sentinel article Jim Reed's Scotts Valley library is going to cost tax payers $20,000,000. I nearly choked when I read the quote from the Vice Mayor:

"It's going to be a frugal library, but a great library," Reed said.

$20,000,000 - "frugal"? Only in the mind of a spend thrift like Vice Mayor Jim Reed when he is spending taxpayer money!

The Sentinel is now reporting that the cost of this library is now $20,000,000. This is in a City where the entire annual general fund is just $8 million per year. The City is borrowing money from other City funds and issuing high interest paying bonds to fund this project. At this cost why didn't the City Council take the issue of the library and the bonds to the voters.

The Scotts Valley Tax payers will be paying for this extravagance for many years to come.

Jim Reed's $17 million library seems more than a bit over the top when you consider the City is currently deficit spending.

In the case of the new library the Scotts valley City Council needed to approve the selling of high interest Scotts Valley bonds to fund a project and in addition "borrowed" millions of dollars from the Scotts Valley Waste Water Fund to help with the $17 million price tag.

Anytime the City needs to go to this extreme to fund a project shouldn't they first present all the numbers to the taxpayers and get their consensus before proceeding?

At a time when the City Council is spending more each year than it takes in from taxes, do we really need to spend $17 million for Reed's library. Can't we get a really good library for much less than half that amount.

To put the size of this expense into perspective consider that $17 million is more than twice the amount in the City Annual General fund. Here are the facts regarding the cost for the library:

$4,500,000 to buy the building

$6,700,000 cost to remodel only 13,000 sq feet of the building

$ 533,000 Architect fee for just 13,000 sq feet of building

$5,500,000 Interest payable on the bonds the City is issuing to cover the full cost.

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$17,200,000 for a 13,000 sq foot library.

This works out to $1,307.98 for each of the library's 13,000 sq feet. Putting this into perspective, it costs every man woman and child in Scotts Valley $1,407.09 to build this.

Vice-Mayor Reed couldn't we have gone for a little less expensive library?