Thursday, June 05, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Election 2003: Table of discontents

Library district regroups after bond failure

By Heidi Walters

Early Tuesday evening at Villa Pizza on Maryland Parkway, the pro-library bond crowd was cautiously optimistic even though early returns showed voters were so far nearly 2-to-1 against the bond. They'd come through a year of community meetings, doorbell ringing, cold phoning and survey conducting. They'd made the educated prediction: Southern Nevada growth will continue at its breakneck pace, and existing library services, while exceptional, will not keep up without a cash infusion and some serious library building, rejuvenation and improvement. And people seemed to be getting it.

"Were you doorbelling?" Pat Marvel, marketing and community relations director for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, asked her colleagues across the table. "What was your experience?"

Many described an overwhelmingly positive reception. "Anywhere I went where there was a family, they were for it," said Nancy Ledeboer, deputy director of the district. "And seniors, especially if they had been teachers or had grandchildren, they were supportive. I only had one person who was negative."

Still, there were premonitions during Tuesday night's wait. Cell phones rang, and callers were comforted: "It's too early, don't get bummed out, it's way too early." Wry comments exposed nervousness: "There's something about chewing on bones, it really relieves stress," said Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, sitting at one end of the table eating chicken wings. She's the development director for the district and handles public and private funding. She predicted the vote would be close. "It's an uncertain economy, it's an uncertain tax climate," she said.

A few minutes later when Hackett-Morgan asked, "Where's Dan?" [Walters, executive director of the library district], and another person said, "At the library; he'll be here later," a librarian a few seats down the table added, "At least he's not at the top of the dam," followed by, "I'm sorry, I have a sick sense of humor."

When Walters did arrive, the vote, though not complete, was still more than 60 percent against the bond. "There may be a miracle for us, but it would have to be a miracle," Walters said.

In the end, no miracle: Voters dismissed the $51.6 million library bond 62.36 percent against to 37.64 percent for (33,697 votes to 20,335). It was beyond disappointing. It's been 12 years since the last library bond passed, which funded a fleet of new libraries that have become havens of literature, art, theater, music, community events and, yes, books, magazines and other information resources both in-hand and electronic. Also in that time the region's population has boomed and begun to burden the library system, especially its computers, and produced whole new library-less neighborhoods.

"We have people who come and wait for hours to get on the Internet," said Jessica Brown, the district's web designer.

The bond would have meant a 74 cents per month increase in taxes--or, $8.82 per year in property tax on a $100,000 home. It would have funded construction and operation of four new libraries--three in the Las Vegas Valley and one in Mesquite--in fast-growing neighborhoods. In Mesquite, the existing library was built 14 years ago when the city's population was 1,960. Now Mesquite has about 13,000 people and is expected to have more than 19,000 by 2007--a 900 percent increase, said Marvel.

"They're getting in and out of their library with shoehorns," she said.

But even in the midst of a defeat underscored by tablesful of gnawed chicken wings, spent beer and pizza crusts and predictions of gloominess the next day, the bond supporters (mostly library employees) found it hard to suppress an ingrained enthusiasm for libraries in general.

"You know, we have a vision of what we want," said Ledeboer. But now, she said, "We'll just do the best we can to provide services."

Hackett-Morgan said the important thing was that the library district was able to put the bond issue before the voters. "We take the public trust very seriously," she said.

"Absolutely," added Ledeboer. "Win or lose, we feel good about the effort we put into it. We asked people what they wanted, and they told us."

Still, Walters said the margin by which the bond failed was surprising. "I think we thought all along we'd have a fighting chance," he said. Timing worked against the bond. "It's a pretty solid no-tax vote." Also, Walters said, perhaps what kept many people from voting for the bond was the fact that the library district already functions so well. It received the 2003 Library of the Year award in May from the Library Journal, and its website (www.lvccld.org) was named the best in the nation for libraries.

"Quite often these proposals pass through a sense of urgency," Walters said. The library district's urgency is still about three years off. "Public libraries always come behind public safety and public schools."

Problem is, that's how long it takes to build a library. Because district funding relies heavily on property taxes, Walters said the library bond "won't be back on this ballot until there are some major changes in the community, until there is a better outlook for tax increases. Maybe when the debt's retired. Unless money falls out of the sky, there are no easy solutions."

But Walters and his staff aren't acting defeated. "While we're disappointed about the loss, we're really pleased to have a first-class library system," Walters said. "And this staff is really good at using what it has."

Tuesday's loss marks the third straight failed library bond election in the valley. Two recent bonds in Henderson also went down in flames.