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Homeless hangout or nest for night owls?
Questions continue to swirl around the proposal to open Salt Lake City's Main Library 24 hours a day as the City Council readies for a scheduled vote Tuesday .
But the proposed pilot project could be pulled from the council's agenda and rescheduled for further discussion.
Although it's included in a budget amendment, the plan would be funded with private money — $300,000 through June 30, 2015. It would keep open only the first and second floors.
"There is a very good chance it won't come to a vote Tuesday," said council Chairman Charlie Luke. "I'm interested in separating that out and voting on it in January."
A "needs assessment" for the 24-7 proposal is due by month's end.
"Moving forward without that analysis would be difficult," Luke said. "There are still questions we need to answer."
Council members Kyle LaMalfa, Stan Penfold and Erin Mendenhall appear ready to approve the two-year pilot program.
Councilman Luke Garrott supports the library's all day, every day plan, but said moving forward before the needs assessment is complete may fall short of good public process.
Council members Lisa Adams and James Rogers say they are not ready to approve it.
The seven-member body should seek further public input because the proposal only has recently become public, Rogers said.
"This needs more time," he said. "This is the fastest thing to be pushed through since I've been on the council."
Several residents told the council last week they want more information and feared the all-night hours would bring crime to the area.
Library director John Spears tried to assuage apprehension that an expanded schedule would turn the library into a de facto homeless shelter, saying, "People won't be allowed to sleep or camp out."
"We provide service to the homeless, like we do everybody else," he said. "This is only an extension in time of what we already do."
Presently, the library is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Several months ago, Jason Mathis, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, along with businessmen Bruce Bastian and Bill Evans, approached Spears with an idea to keep the library open as a place where homeless youth could seek refuge. They would fund the extension of library hours to 24-7.
Spears told the men that the library must serve all segments of the community. And the idea to go 24-7 was born.
Mathis said extending the library hours would help enliven downtown at night. It also could spur new activities on the library plaza.
"The library is an extraordinary resource that is not utilized as much as it could be," Mathis said.
Both Rogers and Adams said they would rather entertain extending hours to midnight, or so.
"Homeless people need a place to go on a cold night," Adams said, "But I'm wondering if we aren't trying to merge two things that don't necessarily go together."
By contrast, LaMalfa said the library proposal is innovative and that Salt Lake City should not be afraid of experimenting.
"I'm OK with failing gracefully," he said. "This innovation is one I'm willing to support."
Like the library's daytime hours, everyone would be welcome at night, LaMalfa added.
"It's a simple thing we can do to appeal to a group of people who may not have a place to go but also for a group of people who are active at night."