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Bonita Springs needs a new library and it shouldn’t have to wait five years for funding from Lee County to help build it, City Council members said Wednesday.

The council directed its staff to begin discussing the issue with Lee County’s staff after listening to a report from Johnson Engineering, which outlined the need for a new library because the current facility is not adequately serving residents.

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

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

Lee County leaders had offered to provide about $4.5 million to the city, when Bonita leaders considered building a facility downtown to house a library and City Hall. Money for that project was expected to be available in 2011.

After hearing the consultant’s report, city leaders called the county’s schedule and funding proposal unacceptable.

Bonita residents pay far more into the Lee County Library System than they get back, said Mayor Jay Arend.

Last year, library taxes generated about $4.3 million from the city of Bonita. It cost about $1.4 million last year to operate the Bonita branch.

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

It’s not bad to be a donor city, but Bonita Springs’ facilities need to be adequate, said City Manager Gary Price.

The issue sparked discussions from city leaders about breaking from the county’s system and using all the money collected in Bonita for the Bonita library.

That option is still on the table if the county is not willing to properly fund Bonita’s library, said Councilman Ben Nelson.

The city’s current library is about 12,000 square feet or more than 160 percent smaller than a 32,000-square-foot facility that is needed to meet the county’s own minimum standards, Keys said.

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

The report also indicates the current library is 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 bring more business downtown, increase pedestrian traffic, improve the city’s redevelopment efforts and increase interaction with the park and band shell, she said.

The facility would be built around the large banyan tree, which is one of the city’s focal points on the property beside community hall.

The city could use about 6,000 square feet of the building for municipal facilities, such as offices for the tax collector, elections department and Sheriff’s Office, Keys said.

City residents could help decide the building’s architectural style.

County leaders are willing to discuss Bonita’s library options, but had yet to hear Wednesday of plans for a new stand-alone facility, said Assistant County Manager Pete Winton.

“The county has never envisioned something that large,” Winton said after hearing about the new plans. “If they want a stand-alone, 50,000-square-foot regional library, that is going to be a difficult request to fill.”

But the city is not asking the county to pay for the entire project.

Along with city and county money, the library could be built with state grant money, Keys said.

City leaders hope the consultant’s report can serve as a basis for discussions with the county.

As for the new library, it’s still a long way off, Nelson said.

“We need to take all this info and start having a series of sit-downs with the county,” he said. “We can sit here and talk about what color (the library) ought to be or where it ought to be, but it really doesn’t amount to anything if we can’t come to an understanding with the county.”