Patterson Frantically Discharges; Council Counters

WaPo:

In its last item of business yesterday, the D.C. Council rejected a frantic attempt to move forward with the construction of a $275 million downtown central library, which has been seen as Williams's legacy to the city.

The Council Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation voted 3 to 2 last month to keep the legislation in committee for more study. Opposing council members said they had questions about the cost of the project and whether the flagship Martin Luther King Jr. Library could be renovated.

But Patterson, who is the committee chairman and a library supporter, tried to force the legislation onto the agenda, a rarely used maneuver known as a "discharge."

Fenty, who is the Ward 4 council member and a library supporter, said the city had exhausted numerous studies and public hearings to conclude that it needs a new downtown library. He said Williams's plan was a "good jumpstart" for improving the library system as a whole.

But some opposing council members described the city's neighborhood libraries as "shameful" and "disgraceful" while questioning why the city would pour millions of dollars into a new central library when other libraries are closed or in disrepair.

Brown said residents go to the MLK library because it is in better shape than the facilities in their communities. "I can no longer sit here and listen to this foolishness," he said.

Patterson had the support of seven council members, but library ally Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6) had to leave the council session early because of illness. Library supporters offered to send a car to get Ambrose, but they said she was too sick to return for the vote.

The effort failed in a 6 to 6 vote.

I'm willing to buy that Williams's plan is a good one to "jumpstart" the city, insofar as he's released a 370-page blue ribbon taskforce report that the community has had little time to digest. There are other considerations that were never discussed—in particular, the city's official cost estimate and plan for renovating the MLK Library—and those should come next.