Voters pass $19.6 million library levy.

Byline: SCOTT MABEN The Register-Guard

Eugene voters Tuesday made sure the city's new library will open next winter with a full staff, expanded hours and plenty of new books.

A four-year, $19.6 million library levy passed with more than 2,300 votes - and with the required 50 percent voter turnout for a property tax measure, results showed early this morning.

Less certain was the fate of the city's $8.7 million bond measure to replace the aging, cramped fire station in City Hall and build a "live fire" training center. That measure was ahead by a mere 44 votes at 1 a.m.

Tens of thousands of no-shows at the ballot box nearly harpooned both measures, but turnout late in the evening edged past 50 percent of the city's registered voters. Under Oregon's 6-year-old "double majority" law, property tax measures automatically fail when fewer than half of voters cast ballots.

The library measure will continue a levy passed by voters in 1998 and ensure full funding for the new main library and two branch libraries through mid-2007.

Library supporters were celebrating when the library levy, which trailed early in the evening, pulled ahead.

"We were optimistic, but we're more optimistic now," said Connie Bennett, the city's library services director. "We thought it was a good proposal that the community could support."

Angel Jones, the city's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services director, remained upbeat even as early returns showed the levy going down.

"I'm very optimistic about the support and effort we put into this campaign," Jones said.

The new levy has a tax rate nearly double that of the first levy and would cost the average homeowner about $72 a year.

"We knew we were asking for a lot of money," said Merle Bottge, who led the Renew Library Levy Now political action committee. "But we also knew we have a lot of passionate people in support of this."

The money would boost the library collection by 70,000 titles and pay for employees and other operating costs at the new library being built at West 10th Avenue and Olive Street. It also would fund the city's two new branch libraries and keep all three libraries open longer hours.

With the margin so narrow for the fire bond, the city may not know if it passed or failed until Lane County elections officials certify results later in the week.

"It's somewhat disappointing," Fire Chief Tom Tallon said earlier in the evening. "I honestly thought this year that with the fire separated out by itself, the community would see it as a single issue and my hope is it would pass."

It's the third time the fire department has sought money for the proposed fire station. In 2000, the city twice asked voters for money to build or merely buy land for the replacement station, and both times voters said no. But the earlier measures were part of larger tax requests mostly devoted to a new police station.

Tallon said that as a taxpayer, he understands the pressure residents are feeling when faced with several measures that would raise property taxes.

"I'm not really surprised, given the state of our economy right now," he said.

The city wants to build the new fire station on a quarter block somewhere around Fifth or Sixth avenues and Charnelton Street or in the neighborhood of 11th or 13th avenues and Pearl Street. The 23,500-square-foot building also would house the city fire marshal.

The current station, which protects all of downtown and the Oakway area north of the Ferry Street Bridge, is in a corner of City Hall, which engineers have flagged as a candidate for severe damage in the case of an earthquake.

The measure also included nearly $1 million for a firefighting practice or "burn" building.

The main concern with the City Hall fire station is its vulnerability to a major impact, such as a moderate or strong earthquake or a massive explosion. The city has identified a host of other problems, from a sinking equipment bay floor and poor ventilation to overcrowded living quarters.