The Alachua County Library District (ACLD) Governing Board unanimously approved a proposed millage rate for fiscal year 2024-25 at its regular meeting on Thursday and discussed whether the library Headquarters Branch could open its parking to the public after hours. 

Library Directory Shaney Livingston told the board ACLD’s plan had originally been to maintain the current millage rate of 1.0339 mills, but after the board asked her at a June budget workshop to look for ways to reduce it, she brought a proposed millage rate of 1 mill to Thursday’s meeting. 

Livingston said after hearing from the property appraiser estimating 10.2% growth in property value, instead of the 6.5% ACLD had previously estimated, the planned capital projects transfer is reduced by $500,000, from an original $1.5 million. 

The tentative general fund budget for fiscal year 2024-25 is $26,988,644, which is up from last year’s adopted budget of $21,675,546.

Public hearings for the millage rate are set for 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 25. 

The Thursday meeting had a short agenda and was brief, but citizen Linda McGurn came to the meeting and brought up an extra topic during public comment, which Governor Ken Cornell said was also representative of a request from the city of Gainesville. 

McGurn asked the board to consider opening the Headquarters Branch parking lot to the public during hours when the library is not open. She said a lack of parking is hindering downtown businesses, and the library lot could help stimulate the area. 

“It will help downtown be more successful, and help your neighborhood be more successful for people,” McGurn told the board. 

Board members were sympathetic to McGurn’s request, but asked Livingston and board attorney Bob Swain why the parking lot is currently closed after hours. 

Livingston said the lot has been closed during off-hours for 15 years because the library’s insurance carrier, the Florida League of Cities, advised the lot be closed for liability issues. 

Swain agreed, saying that the library is currently in litigation involving the parking lot and that crime statistics show parking lots to be an issue. Swain said if ACLD opens its lot to the public, anyone who parks is considered an invitee and is owed the same duty as if they had entered the building. 

Even during daylight hours, Swain said parking lot claims are a significant part of the city’s litigation while opening the lot at night would introduce even more risk. 

“The library is insured, and so one way it controls cost is through the purchase of insurance,” Swain said. “And by increasing the risk, you could well increase that cost.” 

Livingston also said that in the 33 years since Headquarters Branch opened, the prevailing complaint from the community has been that there is not enough parking. She said she is concerned that if people park in the library lot for a Saturday morning event and are still there when the library opens, the problem will only become worse. 

Cornell said he wanted to ask ACLD staff to work with city staff to determine a favorable partnership that could involve the city helping with necessary security and trash cleanup, and opening its own lots after-hours. 

“I think it really has to be driven by, and resourced by, the city of Gainesville and their board,” Cornell said. “I don’t think they’re going to want to do that, but if they are, then I would presume they could come up with all the right mechanisms, at which point we could look at it.” 

Members of the board generally agreed that the city should take the lead on any use of the library parking lot. 

In April, Jesus Gomez, the city of Gainesville’s director of transportation, sent a letter to Livingston asking her to consider sharing the use of library parking after business hours. In a June 21 letter, special advisor to the city manager for infrastructure and capital projects, Philip Mann, sent city manager Cynthia Curry an update on library parking downtown. 

Mann wrote that while the city had received no formal response from ACLD, staff received word informally that the library would be open to sharing the lot if the city would clean up any trash left behind on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. He advised against this agreement, as the city would incur liability and an extra $10,000-20,000 in financial responsibility to clean up non-city properties. 

Editor’s note: Information on the tentative general fund budget for fiscal year 2024-25 was added to this story along with a name correction of the attorney.