CHAPTER 5

PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND RELATED FACILITIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.......... 5- 3

PUBLIC LIBRARIES .......... 5- 4

• INTRODUCTION.......... 5- 4
• INVENTORY.......... 5-9
  
• ANALYSIS.......... 5-14

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.......... 5-24

INTRODUCTION .......... 5-24

GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOLS.......... 5-24

INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS .......... 5-26

FUNDING.......... 5-30

PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLANNING .......... 5-32

PROBLEMS .......... 5-34

OPPORTUNITIES .......... 5-34

PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND RELATED FACILITIES PLAN.......... 5-36

END NOTES.......... 5-42

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CHAPTER 5
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND
RELATED FACILITIES CHAPTER

Introduction

Public buildings are defined as structures that are owned, leased or operated by a governmental entity for the purpose of providing governmental services to the community. Some of these services are necessary for the efficient functioning of the local community, and others are desired services which contribute to the community's cultural or educational enrichment. In either case, public buildings represent important components of the community's quality of life.

The demand for more and varied public buildings and services increases as urban areas expand, population grows, old facilities become outmoded, and living standards and public expectations rise. At the same time, any considerations toward meeting the demand for public buildings have impacts on the land uses in the community and most importantly on the community's financial resources.

This is an optional Chapter, in that it is not required for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan pursuant to the "Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act", Section 163.3161, Florida Statutes. Sarasota County has recognized the importance of public buildings as an integral part of the community's infrastructure, however, and has chosen to take a long range perspective towards the provision of such facilities by including public buildings planning in the framework of the Comprehensive Plan.

This chapter is designed to identify and study Sarasota County's public buildings with an emphasis on such structures which are owned, leased or operated by Sarasota County Government. These facilities include libraries, fire and rescue facilities, law enforcement facilities and administration facilities, and other systems having countywide importance, such as schools, hospitals and health facilities. The Chapter is intended to evaluate the present and future public buildings needs of the above services, based on existing and future population and to provide the framework for an economically feasible long-range plan to fulfill the County's goal of providing adequate public facilities which meet the needs of Sarasota County's residents.

Sarasota County has chosen to establish Levels of Service for public buildings and related facilities to coordinate land use decisions and long range capital planning for public buildings. Levels of

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Service for such facilities are optional pursuant to Section 163.3161., Florida Statutes, and Rule 9J-5.0055 (1) (a), Florida Administrative Code. As such, Sarasota County has chosen to designate the Levels of Service established in this Chapter as non-regulatory, that is, there is no regulatory requirement that the Levels of Service be met prior to the issuance of a development order and permit as established in Ordinance No. 89-103, Sarasota County's Concurrency Management System Regulations. The Levels of Service established for the various types of public buildings and related facilities included in this Chapter, however, are intended to be used to coordinate capital improvements programming with land use planning and will be utilized as such during the development review process.

This Chapter covers public libraries and public schools. The locations of other types of public facilities are shown on Figure 5-1: Location of Administration Buildings; Figure 5-2: Location of Hospitals and Health Services; and, Figure 5-3: Location of Fire Stations and Police Stations and the Courthouse. The addresses of the facilities depicted on Figures 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 are provided in Appendix E, Section 1.

Public Libraries

Introduction

Public libraries are important community facilities as communities experience expanding populations, growth in leisure time, higher educational goals and attainment, and a significant increase in the proportion of young people in the population. The public library is more than a source of recreation for housewives and children, or a facility to serve the intellectual elite. The growth in population and in the educational level of the average citizen has brought about a significant expansion in the type and the extent of services provided by libraries.

The library services children by introducing books and other materials to them, often used to expand on the educational opportunities available at school. Libraries often cooperate with other community and social agencies which serve children.

Services to young adults as well as the elderly are increasing. They use the library services for continuing education and recreation. Adult services are also increasing and may include recreational and educational reading, and services for various special interest groups such as business, industry and labor.

The Sarasota County Public Library system functions as a County department and is administered by the Director of the Public Library System who reports to the County Administrator and the Board

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Figure 5-1: Administration Buildings

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Figure 5-2: Hospitals

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Figure 5-3: Fire Stations

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of County Commissioners. According to the Director of the Public Library System, the mission of the public libraries in Sarasota County is as follows:

• The mission of the Sarasota County Public Library system is the selection, acquisition and distribution of books, periodicals, audiovisual materials and other resources necessary to meet the information needs of the community. These materials are to facilitate informal self education; enrich and further develop subjects on which individuals are undertaking formal education; improve the quality of services to special segments of the community, including youth, the elderly and the handicapped; and to encourage wholesome recreation and constructive use of leisure time.

  In fulfilling this mission the Library [System] accepts responsibility for upholding the principle of freedom of expression, the public's right to know and for providing equal opportunity of access to information. The Library will work towards these goals by developing and maintaining close working relationships with local educational, civic, cultural and social awareness organizations within the community and by promoting community awareness of library's resources on an on-going basis.¹

Sarasota County responded to the increased information and library needs of the County's population by completing two studies entitled "Sarasota County Library Facilities Analysis" and "An Update of the Sarasota County Library Facilities Analysis with an Assessment of the Proposed Downtown Main Library Site", in 1985 and 1987 respectively. These studies examined the demographics of the County; analyzed the existing conditions of the Library System in terms of materials, staff, public use, facilities and budget; compared the existing conditions to national library standards; and presented recommendations. Portions of these studies were used in the preparation of this section.

The most recent inventory and evaluation of the condition of the public library buildings is contained in a study entitled "Governmental Space Needs, Analysis and Master Plan, Sarasota County, Florida", which was initiated in 1988.

Several studies have addressed the location of proposed library facilities, including the following:

• "A Site Selection for Sarasota County, Florida, Administration Building, Court Facility and Central Library", Allen, West, Whelan, 1991;

• "Downtown Sarasota Site Evaluation for Location of Central Library, Judicial Center, and Administration Center", Sarasota County, April 24, 1992; and

• "Sarasota County Government Library Report, East, Downtown", Sarasota County, January 17, 1995.

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Inventory

The Sarasota County Public Library System consists of the following facilities: Administrative Offices, Selby Library, Gulf Gate Library, Environmental Library, Venice Library, Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Library, Elsie Quirk Library in Englewood, North Port Library, Chidsey Library, and one bookmobile. The library locations are depicted on Figure 5-4. Table 5-1 provides information about each library's area, and capacity, while Table 5-2 describes the average annual activity in each library.

Public Libraries Administrative Offices

In 1995 the Public Libraries Administrative Offices were moved from their previous location at Selby Library to the Sarasota County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Boulevard in the City of Sarasota. The administrative headquarters for the County's library system occupy 1,008 square feet. The newly renovated area is in excellent structural condition.

Selby Library

Selby Library is located at 1001 Boulevard of the Arts, in the City of Sarasota. The building is owned by the City, and leased by the County. It was constructed in 1976. At 30,766 square feet, Selby Library is the largest library facility in the County, and functions as the central library.

The 1988 Governmental Space Needs Analysis and Master Plan stated that structural problems existed at the roof of Selby Library, the Heat-Ventilation-Air Condition System functioned poorly, and Smoke/Heat detectors needed to be installed. The remaining useful life of the building was estimated at 15 years.² In 1988, additional handicapped access was provided, and the front foyer was enclosed.

The library is heavily used, exceeding 386,664 volumes in average annual circulation, 73,572 patrons, 8,098 in average annual patron registrations, and 271,336 average annual reference inquires. In 1995, Selby Library had 164,952 volumes, the largest number of volumes among the library facilities within the County library system. This number exceeds the capacity of the building, which was designed for 150,000 volumes, indicating the need for additional facilities to service north county.

Since 1991, several studies have been prepared evaluating various options for additional public libraries facilities in north county. The most recent entitled "Sarasota County Government Library Report", was presented to the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners on January 17, 1995, and describes a two library concept for a downtown library and an east Sarasota library.

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Figure 5-4: Existing and Planned Libraries

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Gulf Gate Library

Gulf Gate Library is located at 7112 Curtiss Avenue. The original building was constructed in 1983. In 1993, there was a 3,000 sq. ft. expansion to the library. In 1996, this County-owned facility was in excellent structural condition, and had an area of 16,186 sq. ft. The Gulf Gate Library occupies 13,747 sq. ft., and the remaining 2,439 sq. ft. is occupied by the Environmental Library, which has been housed at this location since 1986.

The Gulf Gate library has a design capacity of 78,000 volumes. It is a heavily used facility with average annual circulation of 379,450 volumes, 62,392 patrons, 5,006 average annual patron registration, and 126,514 average annual reference inquiries. In 1995, Gulf Gate Library had 68,798 volumes. The Environmental Library has a design capacity of 12,673 volumes, an average annual circulation of 3,514 volumes, 8,540 average reference inquires, and houses 6,417 volumes.

Venice Library

Venice Library is located at 300 South Nokomis Avenue, in the City of Venice. The original building was constructed in 1980. Following the latest renovation and expansion in 1993, this County-owned facility had an area of 25,197 sq. ft. The 1988 Governmental Space Needs Analysis and Master Plan indicated that the building is in excellent structural condition, thus the estimated remaining useful life of the building is 20 years or more. The location was deemed appropriate to serve the clientele of a branch library.

In 1995 Venice Library had a 98,575 volume capacity, and housed 90,554 volumes. The facility is used extensively, exceeding 395,862 volumes in average annual circulation, 62,392 patrons, 6,273 average annual patron registrations, and 167,390 average annual reference inquiries.

Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Public Library

The high demand for information coupled with the expansion limitations of the Venice Library site indicated that an additional library was needed in the Venice area. In January, 1994 a new 12,500 sq. ft. facility began operations at 4143 Woodmere Park Blvd., Venice. The facility is in excellent structural condition.

In 1995, Jacaranda Library's design capacity was 55,000 volumes. The facility housed 29,997 volumes, and had an average annual circulation of 16,071 volumes, 7,862 patrons, 619 average annual patron registrations, and 13,439 average annual reference inquiries.

Elsie Quirk Library

The Elsie Quirk Library is located at 100 W. Dearborn Avenue in the unincorporated community of Englewood. The original building was constructed in 1962. It has undergone expansions, the latest in 1982, when the Daniels Wing was added, increasing the total area to 11,807 sq. ft. The 1988 Governmental Space Needs Analysis and Master Plan indicates that the building is in excellent condition with a remaining useful life estimated at 20 or more years. The site is adequate for the

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existing uses. The location of the facility is adequate to serve its clientele. In 1993, access to the facility was improved through the construction of an additional entrance and driveway on the south side of the facility, including a library sign and landscaping.

The Elsie Quirk Library has a design capacity of 70,000 volumes. It is an active library branch with approximately 165,126 in average annual circulation, 21,289 patrons, 2,041 average annual registrations, and approximately 51,661 average annual reference questions. In 1995, this facility housed 51,865 volumes.

North Port Library

The North Port Library is located at 13800 S. Tamiami Trail, in the City of North Port. The original 3,533 sq. ft. facility was constructed in 1963, and has been operating as a library since 1974. The facility was leased by the County until 1989, when the County took ownership.

In 1993, the original library was demolished and replaced by a new 12,500 sq. ft. facility on the same site. In 1995, the North Port library had a design capacity of 52,500 volumes, and houses 40,325 volumes. It is an active facility with an average annual circulation of 94,898 volumes, 10,231 patrons, 2,078 average annual registrations, and 44,708 average annual reference inquiries.

Chidsey Library

Chidsey Library is located at 701 Plaza de Santo Domingo, in the City of Sarasota. The original facility was constructed in 1941. The 6,000 sq. ft. structure is owned by the City of Sarasota, and it is currently leased by the County. The Library System occupies an area of approximately 2,000 sq. ft. to house its Technical Services Department. New books are received at this facility and cataloged prior to being distributed to the library facilities.

The 1988 Governmental Space Needs Analysis and Master Plan indicates that the building is in good structural condition with an estimated remaining useful life of 20 years or more. The site is adequate for the existing use.

Bookmobile

The bookmobile service of the County's public library system was initiated in the early 1980s. The bookmobile's home base is Selby Library, from where the bookmobile begins its routes five days a week. The routes vary every day. The bookmobile has a 224 sq. ft. area, a design capacity of 6,000 volumes, and houses 6,490 volumes. It is an active mobile library with average annual circulation of approximately 51,130 volumes, 6,222 patrons, 238 average annual registrations and 6,637 average annual reference inquiries. The highest circulation registered by the bookmobile is at the Bee Ridge and the Siesta Beach areas.

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Analysis

The intent of this analysis is to establish levels of service for public libraries; then, based on these levels of service, evaluate existing and planned future library facilities, and determine Sarasota County's public library facilities needs.

In 1985, the Florida Library Association (FLA) published "Standards and Guidelines for Florida Public Library Services." These standards address the spatial distribution of public libraries and accessibility to the public; administration requirements; materials requirements; community relations; the quality of the collection; and the quality of library services. (Appendix E, Section 2)

The FLA standards and guidelines were considered in the establishment of Sarasota County's Levels of Service, and were modified to better represent local needs. The County's level of service for public libraries consists of four interrelated factors: spatial distribution; building square footage; collection items; and personnel. These four factors work in concert to provide readily accessible and adequately sized public libraries, which offer to clientele quality collections and expert service. The standards are shown in Table 5-3. The following levels of service for public libraries are non-regulatory, and will be used to coordinate land use decisions with development plans to meet future library needs.

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Public Library Spatial Distribution Level of Service

The spatial distribution Level of Service serves to maximize library accessibility through the optimum location of public library facilities. The travel time necessary for a user to reach a library facility is used as a measurement. Sarasota County establishes the following spatial distribution Level of Service for future planning of public library facilities:

• Urban Areas - 15 minutes travel time, and

  Rural Areas - 30 minutes travel time.

An average travel time of 22 miles per hour is used to convert travel time to distance, based upon findings of the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.³

The existing library facilities are located so that they can be reached by the populations of the Urban Areas within 15 minutes, with the exception of the population located east of I-75 in North County, and the population of the Urban Areas between Sarasota and Venice. The population of the semi-rural and rural areas in south county generally can reach library branches within 30 minutes travel time. The population in the rural areas East of I-75 in the North and Central parts of the county cannot reach a public library within 30 minutes travel time.

In addition to travel time, several other factors are important in the location of libraries. The library facilities need be located within business and commercial areas. Here there is a heavy concentration of retail stores, office buildings, banks, pedestrian traffic, public transportation and parking facilities. Library facilities need high visibility during day and evening hours and weekends, and must achieve maximum accessibility through pedestrian, private and public transportation, and adequate parking.

The existing library facilities meet most of the above criteria with the following exceptions: Selby Library's location is removed from the central business district of Sarasota, and its parking facilities are inadequate to serve clientele.

Public Library Space Level of Service

The intent of the building Level of Service is to ensure the construction of library facilities whose size is adequate to accommodate their functions as they meet the demands of the populations they serve. The measurement used for this Level of Service is square feet per capita of functional population. Sarasota County establishes a systemwide public library space Level of Service of 0.536 square feet per capita of functional population.

The above Level of Service is based on Recommendation One of the Report and Recommendation of the Sarasota County Public Facilities Financing Advisory Board to the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners Concerning Sarasota County Library Impact Fees, May 1991, which states: "The Advisory Board recommends use of the Library Facility Level of Service of 0.536 square feet per person and the Collection Material Level of Service of 1.5 items per person in impact fee

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calculations". The Report and Recommendations were accepted by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners on June 18, 1991.

Table 5-4 shows the 1995 status of Sarasota County's Levels of Service. The public library space Level of Service of 0.536 square feet per capita of functional population required a total of 203,354 square feet of public library space by 1995. The existing library facilities have a total of 112,088 square feet.

The "Sarasota County Adopted FY96 Capital Budget, and FY96-FY00 Capital Improvement Program" includes planned future library facilities resulting in a total net gain of 62,234 square feet as shown in Table 5-5. The location of the planned future library facilities is presented in Figure 5-4.

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In FY97 and FY98

• Construction of East Sarasota Library, 20,000 sq. ft. in the eastern portion of the county, on a site yet to be determined.

• Completion date: first half of 1998

• Construction of Downtown Sarasota Library, 73,000 sq. ft, at Five Points, located in the downtown area of the City of Sarasota.

• Completion date first half of 1998

In FY99

• Architectural Design and purchase of land and Right of Way for a North County Library Branch, coordination with the Sarasota County School Board. This is a joint library and media center project sited near the Booker School campus. The site and square footage of this library facility is to be determined.

Table 5-6 summarizes existing and planned public library facilities, compares them to the Level of Service requirements, and estimates systemwide needs and costs. The existing (1995) library space of 112,088 square feet, and the 62,234 square feet planned for construction by 1998, bring the grand total to 174,322 square feet of public library space.

Although this total represents an increase of 55.5% over the 1995 library space, it does not meet the space requirements as determined by a Level of Service 0.536 square feet/capita of functional population. Consequently, Sarasota County intends to meet its Level of Service requirements through a phasing schedule, illustrated in Table 5-6, which intends to achieve the Level of Service by the year 2005, and maintain it thereafter. The phasing schedule suggests a year 2000 interim Level of Service of 0.42 square feet/capita of functional population. An additional 62,618 square feet needs to be added to the system between 2000 - 2005, at an estimated cost of an additional $9.9 million to achieve the Level of Service of 0.536 square ft/capita of functional population by 2005.

Library officials have indicated that the 1996 average construction cost for public library facilities in Sarasota County (including land, design, engineering and construction) is $158 per square foot of building space.⁴

Public Library Collection Level of Service

The library collection Level of Service ensures that the size and the variety of the collection meets the information and recreation library needs of the population. The number of items and the ratio of titles to items are the measurements used for this Level of Service. Sarasota County establishes a public library Collection Level of Service of 1.5 items per capita of functional population, and a ratio of 0.67 titles per item.

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The FLA classifies library systems into three categories based on the size of their collection (items, and titles) and the size of service population. (Appendix E, Section 2) Sarasota County's library collection Level of Service is consistent with FLA's category "A" based on a functional population of 300,000 - 600,000 people.

The established Level of Service of 1.5 items per capita of functional population requires a total of 617,046 items by 2000, and 180,849 additional items by 2020. (Table 5-7) The 1995 collection of 459,398 items represents 1.21 items/capita.

Sarasota County intends to meet the Level of Service of 1.5 items per capita of functional population by the year 2000, and maintain it thereafter, by gradually increasing the public libraries collections using a phasing schedule for the acquisition of items. Library Officials estimate that the average acquisition cost for public library items is $23.00/item (1996 dollars).⁵ The implementation of the phasing schedule requires the acquisition of 157,648 additional items, at an estimated total expenditure of $ 3.6 million by the year 2000; for the years 1996 - 2000, this schedule requires annual acquisitions of 39,412 items, at an estimated annual cost of $906,476.

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Public Library Personnel Level of Service

The library personnel Level of Service ensures quality of library services to clientele. The measurements used are the number of professional positions, and the ratio of support staff to professional positions, as these positions relate to the population to be served. Professional and support staff are defined as follows by the Florida Library Association (FLA):

• • Professional: Those positions in a library which entail responsibilities, including those of administration, that require independent judgement, interpretation of rules and procedures, analysis of library problems, and formulation of original and creative solutions for them. Such positions require professional training and skill in the theoretical or scientific aspects of work in libraries, as distinct from its mechanical or clerical aspects.

The normal educational requirements is a master's degree (or its historical antecedent) in library or information science or in another acceptable field, such as educational communications and technology, management, public administration, or foreign language and literature. Examples of

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professional positions are librarian, media specialist and subject specialist; and

• • Support: A general term frequently used in personnel classification to designate all non-professional library personnel, including clerks, library technical assistants, and library associates.

Sarasota County establishes a public library personnel Level of Service of 5 professional positions, plus one professional position for each 10,500 persons over 25,000 persons, and a ratio of two support staff for each professional position.

The above Level of Service is consistent with FLA's personnel standards for populations of 300,000 - 600,000 persons for Category A. Based on this LOS, the County's public library system must increase its professional staff from 45.51 Full Time Equivalents (FTE) in 1995 to 53.78 in 2020. (Table 5-8) In 1995, the 45.51 FTE professional staff members employed in the County's public library system, exceeded the LOS, representing a ratio of 1 professional staff member for every 8,336 persons of functional population, as compared to 9,790 persons required by the Level of Service.

The Level of Service calls for two support staff for each professional staff member. In 1995, there were 58.76 FTE support staff members in the County's public library system, representing a ratio of 1.29 support staff for each professional staff member. (Table 5-8) In order to meet the Level of Service for support staff, the County library support staff must increase to 83.34 FTE by 2000, and up to 107.57 FTE by the 2020.

The County intends to meet its Level of Service for professional and support staff through a phasing schedule as illustrated in Table 5-8. The development of the phasing schedule takes into consideration existing personnel status, planned personnel increases, Level of Service requirements, population increases and the phasing schedule for planned public library space. Earlier discussions regarding library space indicated that planned future library facilities scheduled to be constructed in

1995 - 1998 represent an increase of approximately 59.12% beyond the 1995 library space. The library's professional and support staff must grow proportionately to operate the new library facilities.

The phasing schedule for personnel intends to achieve the Level of Service for professional and support staff by the year 2005, and maintain it thereafter. This calls for the increase of support staff from 58.76 FTE in 1995 to 90.35 FTE in 2005. (Table 5-8)

Additional expenditures beyond the planned expenditures for personnel can be estimated by using a $27,000/yr average annual salary for professional staff, and a $16,000/yr average annual salary for support staff (1996 dollars). The additional expenditure is estimated at $409,280 by 2000. (Table 5-8)

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Future Conditions

In 1995, some areas within the designated urban area were not within the service areas (15 minutes travel time) of existing or planned future library facilities, i.e., the areas Northeast of the City of Sarasota, the unincorporated areas of Osprey, and those areas East of I-75 in north Sarasota County. These areas should be given priority in future library facilities planning. In order to achieve and maintain its Level of Service for library space through 2020, Sarasota County needs to increase its existing and planned future library space by 110,792 sq. ft.

The County has the option of constructing new facilities or exploring opportunities for joint-use of facilities with other public or private agencies. Construction of new facilities would require higher expenditures than a joint-use of facilities. The joint approach would require interagency agreements, and cooperation and coordination among the participating agencies. Both options require careful evaluation of the potential sites based on established Levels of Service for quality of service, particularly accessibility to the public, and proximity to other traffic generating activities.

Public library and public school authorities are currently exploring possibilities of joint-uses. A program is being negotiated whereby school space may be used for joint public library/school library

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uses. If successful, such a program would benefit both agencies in terms of shared expenditures. Such a program would be particularly beneficial to the public, since public library services would be accessible in populated areas where it would prohibitively expensive to construct new library facilities. Similar programs may be explored in coordination with libraries of higher education facilities, (i.e., College and University campuses).

In 1995 the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners appointed the Strategic Planning Committee for Libraries. The mission of the Committee is to prepare a vision plan for public library service in Sarasota County. The anticipated completion date for the vision plan is December, 1996, when it will be presented to the public for input. In FY97, the information technology in the public library system will be upgraded to "state of the art" capabilities.

Public Library Funding Sources

By definition, a public library is a tax supported agency within the governmental structure. As such, the Sarasota County public library system is funded primarily through the Sarasota County government. The State of Florida also provides assistance to the library system. Table 5-9 illustrates the contributions of the federal, state and local governments for the period of 1989 - 1995.