The Palmer Public Library won’t get a new building until 2027

What you need to know:

• Palmer’s new 20,000-square-foot public library is now expected to open in early spring 2027 – over four years after the original library closed due to a roof collapse in 2023.
• Construction of the facility has most recently been delayed by insurance issues and design changes. 
• The $18 million project is funded by insurance, a voter-approved bond, grants, donations and the insurance payout. The process continues to be a point of contention at Palmer City Council meetings.

PALMER — Construction on Palmer’s new public library won’t be finished for about two more years, officials said this week, pushing its completion to more than four years after the roof on the city’s previous library building collapsed under heavy snow.

The update was shared at a special City Council meeting at the Palmer Train Depot late Tuesday afternoon. About 70 residents attended, with about 30 speaking in support of the library project.

Preliminary work on the new 20,000-square-foot building could start as soon as August, depending on how quickly the council moves on a contracting process, said Gary Wolf, a Palmer-based architect tasked with designing the facility.

Construction on the new two-story building is expected to take 16 to 18 months and will likely be ready for use in 2027, he said.

“We’re in the process of dotting i’s, crossing t’s, getting drawings completed, and we’re hoping that moving forward we’ll be able to put this out to bid relatively quickly,” he said. “Probably, you’ll take occupancy of the building in early spring 2027.”

The Palmer Public Library closed in early 2023 after a partial roof collapse caused major damage to the structure and portions of its collection. A temporary library is operating out of a rented facility on Arctic Avenue, about a mile from the damaged building.

The new building was most recently expected to be completed next summer, according to projections Wolf shared during a design presentation last year. But that timeline relied on clearing the construction area by demolishing the old facility and completing the design plans — steps that have since been delayed.

Changes to the design ordered last fall by former City Manager Stephen Jellie during his brief tenure added new square footage and delayed the planning process. The building plans including those changes are now nearly complete, Wolf said Tuesday.

Demolition of the old building is currently on hold due to a prolonged insurance settlement process, officials said. That negotiation is nearing completion, and the city expects a payout of about $4 million, according to projections shared with the council. Once the settlement is finalized, the city can move toward construction, officials said.

The new $18.5 million facility will be funded through a combination of the insurance payout, grants, a $10 million bond approved by voters in 2023 and donations.

City officials will present an informational memo to the council before contracting out the demolition, they said in an interview. Once that bidding moves forward, officials will seek final approval to hire a contractor for the building’s construction, they said.

Any new delays could increase the project’s cost due to rising prices for construction materials, Wolf told the council.

The delays have also led a resident who had planned to donate $1 million to withdraw their offer, her attorney told the council.

“My client intends to revisit the issue of a donation to the project once the existing structure has been demolished, as that would be an indication to her that the city is serious about moving forward with getting a new building built,” Palmer-based attorney Allison Collins said at the meeting.

The donor was not publicly identified during the meeting. Their name was temporarily posted on the city’s website last week in a set of documents introduced for Tuesday’s meeting, officials said. Those introductions were canceled, and the documents were removed over the weekend.

Library construction and how much the city is willing to spend on the project remain points of contention at council meetings..

Tuesday’s special meeting began with a chaotic, nearly 45-minute debate about whether to delay most of the items on the agenda — including a closed session regarding the insurance settlement, briefings on the city’s library donation acceptance rules and construction budget, and a vote on launching a project fundraising campaign. 

The meeting marked the first public event for the city’s new manager, Kolby Hickel Zerkel.

Council members John Alcantra, Carolina Graver and Victoria Hudson said the items should be delayed because the city attorney was not present and because Zerkel, whose first day on the job was Monday, may not have had enough time to review them.

Mayor Steve Carrington and Council members Jim Cooper and Ken Erbey said they wanted to preserve the agenda to give attendees a chance to hear the information.

Council member Josh Tudor was not present due to a work conflict, he said.

The council ultimately voted to delay the closed session and donation rules briefing until its next regular meeting, scheduled for May 13. The council received a brief presentation on the proposed fundraising campaign but voted 4–2 to delay a vote on whether to approve it, with Cooper and Erbey voting no.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

This story was updated May 2 to correct a typo regarding the council decision to delay a vote on the proposed funding campaign. The vote was 4-2.