Published on Thu., Oct. 17, 2024
After months of contemplation and examination, it was with great difficulty that the PPLD Board of Trustees came to the decision at our monthly board meeting on Wed., Oct. 16, to close Rockrimmon Library.
In June 2024, the board received a preliminary Facilities Master Plan report (FMP) and was presented with the final report in late September during the Board’s annual retreat. Since June, the trustees have been thoroughly reviewing and considering the report’s findings and recommendations and realized they needed to make some hard decisions about how Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) should proceed.
The sustainability of the Library District is the Board’s number one priority. We want to ensure the District is available and capable of serving the nearly 700,000 residents within its service area in El Paso County.
We were faced with some difficult realities, to include:
- The District has $1.2 million per year in deferred maintenance ($20.7 million for 10 years – see page 68 of the Facilities Master Plan), that we need to address to keep our facilities operational and safe for the public. There is no room in the tight budget that fuels the Library each year for these projects.
- Like many businesses across the country post-COVID-19, PPLD is still suffering from staffing shortages due to retirements, new working options, and the cost of living.
- Leasing space is not as financially sustainable as owning, but it takes money to buy locations or build them.
- PPLD is the second largest library district in Colorado but receives 30 percent less funding than the state average for a library district; compare $51 per capita vs. the state average of $74.
- The amount of money needed to sustain the District is far more than any fundraising could ever solve, as the funds would be needed each year. This is not about balancing a single year’s budget; it is about sustaining the District’s operations for years to come.
- Seeking additional funding cannot be implemented overnight. It would take a few years to come to fruition; we need to start making changes now. We need to find savings and funding now.
As we reviewed the recommendations for sustainable operations without additional funding (Scenario 1 in the FMP), the Board analyzed the impact of the suggested Library closures. It considered all the Library locations and the communities they serve.
Rockrimmon Library, which opened in 1989, was one of the suggested closures. Research into this option revealed that this is not the first time this Library was flagged for closure. In 2014 the then Board of Trustees considered closing this location. However, the departure of the Chief Librarian and the following 18-month search for a replacement put any actions toward that end on hold.
As the trustees further examined Rockrimmon Library they realized:
- There are multiple libraries within approximately 6 driving miles from the Rockrimmon Library location – Library 21c and East Library.
- The lease on the Rockrimmon location is roughly $242,000 per year, the most expensive lease in the Library District.
- There have been problems with flooding during heavy rains; PPLD has had to bear the cost of repairing any damage.
- There was a sinkhole behind the building where the book drop is located.
- While the property owner has recently offered to lower the rent and take care of any future costs due to flooding or sinkholes, this effort does not begin to erase any of the financial issues the Library District is facing.
Closing Rockrimmon Library would allow the following:
- An immediate savings of $242,000, which could help support numerous capital improvements that are needed across the District in 2025.
- A savings of $25,000 in utilities and interior maintenance.
- The staff of 10 employees would be retained and relocated to other Library locations, which would begin to solve the issues of overworked staff and increase staff morale.
- The Library’s resources would be rehoused between Library 21c and East Library.
- A beginning toward sustainability for the District as it considers ways to serve its growing community in the north-, central- and southeast of the county.
The trustees were faced with a hard decision that they did not want to make. But when viewed through eyes that are responsible for the fate of the Library District and its ability to serve all the communities in El Paso County, they must make tough decisions in the District’s long-term best interests. Therefore, the lease for Rockrimmon Library will not be renewed when it expires on Dec. 31, 2024. The Library will close its doors on Sun., Dec. 1, to allow the District to vacate the building by the end of the lease.
This is just one – albeit an important one - of several decisions the Board must make over the next few months as it works to sustain Pikes Peak Library District so that it can continue to serve this community for decades in the future.
– Dora Gonzales, PPLD Board of Trustees President