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Bonita Springs needs a new library and it can't wait another five years for it, city council members said today.

The council decided to discuss the issue with Lee County staff after listening to a report from Johnson Engineering, which outlined the need for a new library because the current facility is not meeting the needs of residents.

The report suggests building a new facility off Old 41 in downtown Bonita Springs on city-owned property now occupied by Community Hall.

The proposed two-story, 55,000-square-foot facility could cost at least $10 million to build, said Stephanie Keys, principle planner for Johnson Engineering.

Lee County leaders intend to provide $4.5 million for the city's library program but not until 2011, Keys said.

That time and amount is not acceptable given the fact that the city contributes about $4.3 million per year to the county's library system and gets back only about $700,000 per year.

The year "2011 is unacceptable and only $4.5 million is completely unacceptable because we are a donor city," Mayor Jay Arend said.

The city's current library is about 12,000 square feet or 160 percent too small compared to the 32,000 square-foot facility that is needed to meet the county's own minimum standards, Keys said.

"There is no question that the size of the library is far below even the county's most minimum standards," Keys said.

With future growth, Bonita Springs will need a facility that is between 48,000 and 60,0000 square feet, she said.

The report also indicates that the current library is also lacking needed services, including computers, librarians, meeting space, space for children and outdoor space.

"Bonita Springs is one of the larger and most densely populated areas in the county not served by a major regional library," Keys said.

Locating the library in the Old 41 Road redevelopment area, will enhance downtown traffic, increase pedestrian traffic, improve the city's redevelopment efforts and increase interaction to the park and band shell, she said.

It would be built around the Banyan tree, which is one of the city's main focal points.

Find additional coverage in Thursday's edition of the Daily News.