In the Lubbock City Council’s scheduled meeting Thursday, funds were reallocated within the 2013-14 Fiscal Year Operating Budget to fund further renovation of the new Godeke Branch Library location.

The project was granted an additional $866,000 which was removed from funds intended to water-proof and renovate water damage to City Hall. The original estimates for the renovation of the new Godeke Library site were based on the previous estimate of moving into the former site of Barnes & Noble. The new location for Godeke, the former Luskey’s/Ryons building at 56th Street & Frankford Avenue, does not currently meet building code. The additional funds for renovations will be used to bring the building into compliance.

Although the Budget Amendment passed 6-0, with Councilman Victor Hernandez absent, the council was not pleased with having to allocate additional funds to the Godeke renovation at the cost of postponing repairs to City Hall.

“It concerned us because we hadn’t really planned on that much. Now we’re still going to save money over the course of five years, we’re just not going to save as much money as we would have liked.” Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson said, “Over the course of 15-20 years we’re going to save a tremendous amount of money. Especially if we exercise the option to buy the building in the future, but for right now it’s kind of a bitter pill to swallow.”

The City of Lubbock is under lease with the new location for five years with an option to buy the property at the end of the lease. The current lease is $80,000 per year, down from the previous $288,000 per year at the old Barnes & Noble Bookstores location.

The current Godeke Branch Library was closed on May 27 of this year with no official date set for the reopening.

In other news from Thursday's council meeting, David McCullough was appointed to West Texas Municipal Power Agency Board of Directors.

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