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RENTON
FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014
Downtown library to close June 22 to begin construction Bids come in way under budget; temporary facility opens June 25 BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@rentonreporter.com
In an unannounced update before Renton City Council, the King County Library System on Monday said the downtown Renton Library will be closing in two weeks to begin the planned construction.
A library update was not listed on the council agenda, but Greg Smith, KCLS facilities director, gave the update on the project at the regular City Council meeting on June 9. It was the first time actual dates have been given for the closure of the library over the Cedar River. The current location is to close June 22 and the temporary location is expected to open June 25 at 64 Rainier Ave. S. “We are excited for the project and eager to get started,” said Smith via email. “We feel good about the results.” The Liberty Park library renovation
project went to bid May 20 and had six bidders, Smith reported to the council. Of those six, $5.1 million was the lowest bid and $5.9 million was the highest. With an engineering budget of $6.2 million, Smith said the project was well within budget for the library. The library’s total budget is $10.4 million. Construction Enterprises and Contractors of Tacoma was selected for construction. The anticipated opening date for the downtown Renton Library is September 2015. “During the closure we have a huge
amount of outreach activities scheduled June through August,” Smith told council. Those activities include the Summer Learning, Let’s Read and Deep Dive programs with the Renton School District as well as continuing children’s, teen and adult services at the Renton Highlands Library. The temporary library will have some computers, a small collection and holds pick-up, in about 2,000 square feet of space. It will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, and 1 p.m. [ more LIBRARY page 4 ]
Renton moves closer to B&O tax to balance budgets BY BRIAN BECKLEY bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
The City Council this week took one step closer to imposing a business and operations tax as a way to help close an impending budget gap. On Monday, following a presentation at the Committee of the Whole, the council approved a committee report instructing the administration to continue to pursue legislation that creates a B&O tax, though the council was clear that Monday’s vote was not approval of a tax, which will have to come back for council approval. The B&O tax is being considered as a way to deal with a projected budget gap that will affect the city in 2016. According to Administrative Service Administrator Iwen Wang, if the council does not make any changes to the city’s revenue streams, the city will face a $3.3 million budget deficit in 2016. Because of several years worth of cuts to the city [ more BUDGET page 16 ]
Hundreds of children got an opportunity to not only do some fishing, but also some catching this past weekend during the C.A.S.T. for Kids event Saturday at Gene Coulon Park. A small section of Lake Washington near the docks were corralled off and stocked with fish. Right, Rafael Polito, 6, and dad Joe Polito show off Rafael’s catch.
Fish Stories BRIAN BECKLEY, Renton Reporter
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