Alexandria officials question need for ‘green’ library roof

Dorothy Koopman, board chairman of the Alexandria Library, recently spoke out against the city’s plan to install the “green” roof on the Burke branch of the city library.

“The current roof is only 13 years old, has never leaked, and has a useful life of 25 years,” Koopman said, calling the green roof project “ill-conceived.”

Koopman asked the city to consider using some of the project’s cash to cover the cost of regular library operations.

Alexandria’s library system has lost roughly 13 percent of its city funding over the last three years — or about $1 million including the coming year’s proposed cuts. Those reductions have forced officials to scale back the library’s work force and hours of operation, as well as its custodial services.

Koopman argued the library system needed more green in its operating budget — not on its rooftops.

However, the roof project is supplemented by federal grants — money awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency for eco-friendly projects — that the city will lose unless it moves forward with its plans.

Pulling out of the project would also jeopardize Alexandria’s future requests for grant funds, according to City Budget Director Bruce Johnson.

“If we were to tell the EPA, ‘Oh I’m sorry, we’ve changed our mind,’ do you think they would give us a grant in the future?” Johnson said. “We can’t do business that way.”

Vice Mayor Kerry Donley said Koopman had raised some “legitimate questions,” but he agreed with Johnson that it would be difficult to pull back on a project the City Council had already approved and for which they’d received federal grants.

However, councilman and library board member Frank Fannon sided with Koopman.

“In this economy, probably the last thing we need to be doing is spending $173,000 on a green roof we don’t necessarily need,” Fannon said.

The City Council plans to address the roof project issue later this month.

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