Palmer City Council approves $734,000 in library construction updates, including more meeting space

What you need to know:

• The new Palmer Public Library will include two additional second-floor meeting rooms under a roughly $734,000 construction cost increase approved by the City Council late last month. The update also funds window shades, shelving and required construction testing.
• The new meeting rooms will occupy a controversial upstairs area the city previously designated for storage that former Palmer City Manager Stephen Jellie originally added through an unauthorized change order.
• The council rejected a $227,000 update to expand a kitchen area to include a snack bar.  The changes bring construction costs to about $12.9 million, below the $16 million the council authorized. Officials expect the library to open next summer.
• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

PALMER — The new Palmer Public Library will include two more second-floor meeting rooms under a construction update approved by the City Council late last month.

The council unanimously approved the change during a regular meeting Oct. 27. It is part of a series of cost increases totaling $734,000.

The update also funds shelving for books and other materials, shades for the facility’s 40 windows and required construction and materials tests, according to city documents.

The council rejected a roughly $227,000 change that would have expanded a kitchen area near the library’s entrance to include a snack bar that a cafe vendor could lease and operate.

The newly approved meeting space will occupy a controversial upstairs section of the 20,000-square-foot facility that was first added in 2024 through an unauthorized change order by then-Palmer City Manager Stephen Jellie.

Jellie’s update, which the City Council reviewed weeks after his brief 53-day tenure and tumultuous resignation, carried a $1.5 million price tag and added 2,000 square feet of space for a series of city staff offices and an additional fire exit stairwell to a portion of the second floor that original plans slated as roof space.

Rather than reject the update entirely, which had required significant architectural design changes, the council opted to convert the area into a less expensive, unfinished storage space.

The council's latest change once again shifts that plan. Instead of leaving the space unfinished, the city will use it for two additional public meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 16 people, bringing the building’s total number of study and meeting spaces to 11.

The library’s previous building included only one meeting space. Palmer librarian Joy Bailey said the update will help the library meet a frequent community request.

“There's a definite need for more meeting rooms. It was a request we got all the time,” she told the council. “We do have people come in to meet with social workers, for example. They are tutoring students. We have people requesting space to do telehealth appointments. We can't accommodate any of that right now – the old building couldn't either. So these small meeting rooms could be really important for things like that.”

The project change and cost increase were the second such updates the council reviewed last month. The council approved the first Oct. 13, adding about $87,000 for high-speed data cabling and 13 security cameras that will come online when the facility opens to users.

The changes bring project construction costs to about $12.9 million, still well below the $16 million authorized by the council, officials said.

The project is funded by a combination of grants, donations, insurance payouts on the previous facility and revenue from a 1% city sales tax increase. That tax increase is set to expire late next year.

The library’s previous facility closed in early 2023 after its roof collapsed under heavy snow. A temporary library facility on Arctic Avenue hosts a portion of the collection. The new building is expected to open next summer.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com