Cloquet to hold hearing on library

The Cloquet City Council is holding a public hearing on its intention to issue library expansion project bonds in the amount of roughly $1,275,000 during its Sept. 3 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Citizens are encouraged to speak at the public hearing.

The library received a $784,000 library construction grant from the Minnesota Department of Education, and the Cloquet Shaw Memorial Public Library Foundation also committed $275,000 toward the more than $2 million project.

If citizens disagree with the council decision Sept. 3, they can take the issue to a public vote by submitting a petition signed by voters, equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the last election, within 30 days of the public hearing.

According to a tax impact chart published with the Aug. 7 council packet, property taxes on a $200,000 house would increase $17.88 a year, and $7.10 a year on a $100,000 home.

The proposed expansion would include:

More collection space

Quiet study space

Reduced noise levels

More meeting space

More computers

Separate childrens’ space