When Summit County residents head to the polls May 6 for the primary election, they’ll also vote on a new bond issue that could provide $160 million in funds to the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Here’s everything you need to know about Issue 18.
What is Issue 18?
The proposed bond issue would provide $160 million to the library system over 20 years “for the purpose of constructing, adding to, renovating, remodeling, furnishing, equipping and otherwise improving library buildings and facilities, and acquiring, clearing and improving the sites thereof.”
The last time voters approved a library bond issue was in 1997, said Dana Setting, the library system’s marketing communications director.
What Summit County residents will vote on Issue 18?
In notes from a Jan. 13 Summit County Council meeting, Akron Documenter Meagan Rodgers outlined which residents would get to vote on the bond issue.
“The new issue will appear on the ballot in all Summit County communities within ASCPL’s service district,” Rodgers wrote. “Several Summit County communities (including Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Stow and Twinsburg) do not fall under ASCPL’s service district because they have separate libraries governed by separate boards. Residents in these communities will not vote on the issue or be assessed if the issue passes.”
Some Portage County residents will also vote on Issue 18, Setting said, because the Mogadore Local School District is in the library’s taxing district. Mogadore Local School District encompasses parts of Summit and Portage counties. The issue will be on the ballot for Portage County residents who live in the Mogadore school district.
What would Issue 18 cost property owners?
If passed, the 20-year bond would cost $35 annually for every $100,000 of a property’s appraised value. If a property is valued at $200,000, the owner would pay an additional $70 a year in taxes.
What would the funds be used for?
Of the 19 locations that make up the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 14 buildings opened between 1999 and the early 2000s. The average age of the buildings is 24 years, Akron-Summit County Public Library Executive Director Pamela Hickson-Stevenson told the Summit County Council in January.
Because the branches were built at roughly the same time, they all need repairs at the same time, Setting said. The bond issue will pay for those repairs.
“So many of our roofs need replacing. Many of our parking lots need redone,” she said. “We’ve got HVAC systems — furnaces, air conditioning — that are aging very rapidly. We’ve replaced several of those in the last year or two.”
Every branch will undergo some kind of renovation, Setting said — some more extensive than others.
“Everything would be getting a refresh. And at some of them, they may just need a paint job and new furniture, and that might be the extent,” she said.
She added that the way people use libraries has also changed, and buildings need updated to reflect that.
“When Main Library opened, computers were new and cutting-edge. And it was that transition from kids doing their homework on paper to doing them on computers. So banks of computers were a big focus when this location opened,” Setting said. “And now, (computer use has) dwindled so much that we’ve got all this space, but it was built for such specific usage that it just needs (to be) revisited now.”
In 2024, the library system sought public feedback on the changes they would like to see in the buildings. At the top of the list was a need for more work spaces, such as private study rooms, and more electrical outlets, Setting said.
The funds could also be used to purchase a new building for the Springfield-Lakemore branch. Currently, the library leases the location, which is located in a shopping center.
“It’s not the main priority. But that is in the dream list of proposed options,” Setting said.