Members of the Athens City Council say they’re so willing to move forward on a new Athens-Limestone Public Library, they’re willing to pass a resolution outlining the city’s financial commitment.

At a Thursday work session, the members tentatively agreed to vote at Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting on a measure that would allocate an additional $456,500 to the project, bringing the city’s total commitment to $1.1 million.

Mayor Ronnie Marks said where the $456,500 would come from is still undecided, but it may come from a combination of funds from the 2011 budget and from the first portion of the 2012 budget.

The remainder of the city’s $1.1 million commitment rests within the purchase of the old Kroger building on Jefferson Street, which the city and county purchased for $643,500. Thus far, the city and county have a combined total investment of more than $1.2 million in the project, which includes the cost of the building and about $321,750 each in committed cash or in-kind funds, with initial architect fees paid.

Mayor Ronnie Marks said in order for the project to be completed, the County Commission, library foundation and library board would also need to contribute $1.1 million per entity, bringing the total to $4.4 million. The cost for the project, however, has been estimated to cost more than $6 million.

The library foundation currently has about $300,000 set aside in cash and pledges, while the library board has about $2.9 million in Southard Trust funds which helps keep the library operational through dividends.

“If we can come up with something this calendar year, we’ll be counting on the same parties to meet the same obligation,” Marks said. “I don’t want the city putting $456,500 in a joint account if the other entities aren’t putting forth the same amount.”

Council President Jimmy Gill and Councilman Harold Wales are part of an eight-person leadership team established to oversee the project. Gill said it was important that a city position be established prior to a planned Tuesday library meeting. The other six members of the team include two members each from the County Commission, library foundation and library board.

“We need to agree on one amount, one time to fund this project,” Gill said. “We need to be prepared and solid about what we’re going to do.”

In other library business, the council also discussed amending a joint property agreement on the Kroger building between the city and county. The change has much to do with a change in political climate since the purchase of the building, namely the defeat of former Commission Chairman David Siebert in the November general election.

Siebert was listed as the project manager on the old agreement, but a change would have to be voted on by both the city and county.

Another part of the agreement states that all financial records for the library’s construction will be overseen by the city clerk’s office, and that the city will maintain the joint account containing funds for the library.

Other business

Another big topic of discussion at Thursday’s meeting was the condition of the city’s roads, including Nuclear Plant Road, Jefferson Street, Lindsay Lane and Beau Park Road. When the roads would be repaired is a larger issue, as repairs are primarily funded through gas tax funds.

The city currently has about $244,000 in gas tax funds, but a large portion of that has been allocated, including $50,000 for guardrail replacement and bridge inspections and $65,000 for Lindsay Lane improvements. However, Public Works Superintendent James Rich said $25,000 to $30,000 is added to the fund each month.

Wales said there are pressing road needs in the city that need to be taken care of immediately, including roads throughout the Hannah Heights subdivision.

“People are calling me at home and stopping me in restaurants and I have to tell them the truth, which is we don’t have the money,” he said.

Gill suggested a line-item appropriation of $250,000 from the general budget to road repairs. Council members also discussed the idea of implementing a fee on car tags for residents within the city limits, a measure that could generate up to $500,000. The same fee, Rich said, could be prorated for big trucks that use the road. However, such a fee would have to be passed at the state legislative level.

Perhaps the most pressing road need is that of Nuclear Plant Road, which Rich said would cost about $2.5 million to bring up to federal standards. The city has about $4 million in reserve funds, but council members were cool to the idea of using reserve funds for road repairs.

The total estimated cost for what Rich considers major projects, not counting Nuclear Plant Road, is $465,000. The total estimated cost for projects requested by council members is $616,000.

Rich told the council he plans to travel to both Tuscaloosa and Auburn to examine how those cities fund road construction.

Lastly, the council heard a proposal from city attorney Shane Black to amend the city’s alcohol ordinance in reference to how licenses are issued for special events.

When the ordinance was passed in 2003, the same rules affected restaurants and those who wanted to host special events where alcohol would be sold. The amendment, if passed by the council, will reduce the cost of the filing fee, shorten the ABC license wait time from 30 days to 25 days for special events and also modify how residents who live within a certain radius of the event will receive notification.

The council will meet Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the Athens Police Department