Poll finds voters split on bonds

Coeur d’Alene residents aren’t certain they like where the city wants to build a new $7 million library, and it’s doubtful a bond election to pay for a new library would pass if the vote occurred today, according to a recent survey of voter opinions.

Yet city officials say there is still a strong consensus that a new library is needed.

The city hired an independent consultant to see how residents feel about Coeur d’Alene’s need for a new library, fire department equipment and a city hall expansion. The city is considering asking voters — perhaps in February — for permission to sell bonds, which would be repaid with property taxes.

Robinson Research of Spokane conducted a 600-person telephone survey during 14 days in June and held two focus groups on June 3.

The city, the Coeur d’Alene Library Foundation and Lake City Development Corp., the city’s urban renewal agency, paid the pollster $20,000 to help determine how much bond money is needed and which projects voters would support.

It takes a supermajority, or two-thirds voter approval, for a city to pass a general obligation bond.

“This will determine what the next step might be,” said Ruth Pratt of the Coeur d’Alene Library Foundation. “It’s just information to help us go forward with planning.”

Finance Director Troy Tymesen said the General Obligation Bond Advisory Committee will review the survey and make a recommendation to the City Council. The council will make the final decision of whether to ask voters for more tax dollars.

The survey and forum results show that 82 percent of the respondents were unaware that the city was considering a fire or library bond. The consultant asked no questions regarding plans for a possible community center, which the advisory committee has considered paying for with bond money.

Residents were split about how they would vote on the proposed $5 million library bond if the election were held tomorrow.

Forty-six percent of the respondents said that they would vote for the library bond, roughly the same percentage who said they would vote against the measure. Nine percent of those polled said they were undecided.

The proposed library bond would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $24 annually for 20 years.

The 600-person phone survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

When asked how they would vote on allowing $8 million in bonds for new fire trucks, training and fire station remodels, 45 percent of the respondents said they would favor the proposal if the election were held tomorrow. Thirty-four percent of those polled said they were against the fire bond while 20 percent said they were undecided.

The owner of a $100,000 home would pay about $62 annually for the next 10 years to pay off the fire bond. The money also would help refinance the new fire station on 15th Street and the police station by rolling the payments into a fire bond, which would have a lower interest rate.

Prevalent reasons for opposing the library bond included the perception of being overtaxed and dislike for the location of the new library. The Library Foundation plans to build a new library, totaling at least 50,000 square feet, across from City Hall on a lot that it has already has purchased with the help of urban renewal agency.

The results show that 48 percent of those polled said the downtown location was good, while 44 percent said it was a poor location. Eight percent were undecided.

Many objectors said locating the library, which is currently on Harrison Avenue, in the north section of town makes better sense.

“The majority of your population (of) the people who would use it are definitely not in that area,” one respondent told the surveyors.

Another person said it was too far away from Coeur d’Alene’s two high schools.

Yet there was no consensus on alternative locations for the new library.

People who support building the new library often cited the inadequacy of the existing library and said a new library would be an asset.

Many people also questioned why the cost of the proposed library has increased more than $4 million since 2000.

“They are going overboard,” one person said.

Initially, the Library Foundation promised it would not seek a bond to pay for construction because members didn’t think it would pass and vowed instead to focus on grants and donations. With Coeur d’Alene’s population growth, the foundation has upgraded its plans by 20,000 square feet. Pratt said the foundation has found a few grants for construction but noted that other cities in the region have used bonds to fund new public libraries.

The survey also included questions about whether residents would want City Hall to expand into the new downtown library building. The idea wasn’t popular with potential voters, with 61 percent of the respondents saying they were against the idea. Twenty-three percent of the people asked said it was a good idea to combine City Hall and the library.

Respondents said it wouldn’t make much difference if the city put both the fire and library bond issues on the same ballot, forcing voters to decide each measure separately. Yet many respondents said combining the library and fire bonds—asking voters to approve both measures or neither—was a favorable idea.

The poll also asked residents their annual income and their level of education and whether they consider themselves Republican, Democrat or Independent.

For more information, call 769-2300.