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CITY OF SOUTH BEND ' OFFICE OF THE CLERK the fact that we are turning down people right now because we can't accommodate them, I think we will see an increase in traffic. I also think that with all the livability coming downtown, it will be a place that attracts people living in the downtown and will be an amenity. However, the Main Library is a destination for the whole City. Councilmember Scott stated, I would like to see you guys give a wag at it before we give our final vote in weeks to come. That number would be neat to know. Committeemember Davis interjected, Regarding that, we had talked about the size of that group room. What is the new size going to be in terms of capacity? Ms. Duta replied, We will have a variety of rooms. We will have a large meeting room that will seat upwards of three hundred (300) but it can then also be divided. There are a number of conference rooms as well. Committeemember Davis interrupted, What can it currently sit? Ms. Duta replied, The current one (1) is about two hundred sixty (260). One (1) of the problems with the current one (1), though, is we can't do afterhours meetings. So if anybody is meeting in the lower level of the library and we have to get them out afterwards, we have two (2) very small elevators or we try to get them up the back stairs and it is just a mess. We want to be able to open up the spaces either early in the morning or later in the evening and have events. Committeemember Davis interrupted,So where it will be located will not be contingent on whether the library is open or not? Ms. Duta replied,Right,we can open it on its own. We could open the auditorium and event spaces on their own. There will be a tech center that fronts Wayne Street and we hope to be able to open that on its own. We were doing classes for the homeless population at 8:00 a.m. and we would have to take them in the back door. This way, we will have street access. Committeemember Davis stated, That makes a lot of sense, thank you. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, In terms of what we will be looking at going forward, I shared my comments with our two (2) Redevelopment Commission reps. One (1) of the pieces I noticed in the current bill versus conversations that were had either independently or before Council was the change in the dollars that are put in this. I guess I want to make sure, in our consideration as Council because I think that matters a lot because we are representative of the entire City, and I know the Redevelopment lane and I know our lane, but I think we need to look at this in a manner, I guess if I look at the history and I know the partners that are being asked to put forth dollars on this, I guess I want to make sure, going forward, that we have a very robust discussion and, quite frankly analysis, that the dollars are sufficient to not only accomplish the current vision but also to be able to expand to accommodate future visions, right? And I guess what I'm trying to say is I think this is, at least for me, you only have so many opportunities where you have a crack at something that is this public and this democratic. This has so much potential, I think, for our community and I consider it, for me sitting in this seat, as a fifty(50)year decision, right? So if I'm going to be looking at the funding dollars, I really want to make sure of that. And I know the history on this was $10 million to $6 million to $8 million to $4 million, it has been all over the map. I guess I want to bring to you as peers, and having kind of spoken and have heard EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4