MINUTES OF THE NEW LIBRARY JOINT COMMITTEE
JANUARY 23, 2007
The New
Library Joint Committee met on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 7:00 p.m., at the
new library site (
It was
motioned by Fritz, seconded by Canny to approve the consent agenda containing
the following items: agenda and minutes
as amended. All were in favor.
There was no
public input at this time.
At this time the committee members were to report back on what their
group’s expectations are.
Foundation member Danielson reported that the Library Foundation sees
the next step to have the referendum placed on the ballot with some changes in
the wording, using the same levels and plans as before and try it again.
Library Board members DeWald and Steward reported that they went to the
rest of their board and they pretty much came up with the same plan as the
Library Foundation, to have the referendum placed on the ballot with different
language. They provided a handout that
laid out the Board’s proposal. It
consisted of: A) Meeting the goals of
the new library by housing the current collection, complying with the ADA by
making the Library handicap accessible, providing space for programming and
allowing room for growth for 20 years.
B) Making fiscal sense. The three
Design Committee options were all comparably priced, see adjusted cost
comparison tables, and the least amount needed at 5 & 10 year
additions. C) Most bonds don’t pass on
the first try. Board member DeWald
stated that he doesn’t want to see the community divided because of the Library
project and feels the Joint Committee will help defuse the misinformation that
has happened between the groups in the past.
City Council members Canny and Fritz reported that there was no
committal by the other members of the council.
Council member Canny reported that the citizens that approach him about
the project state that it is too big and too much.
Council member Fritz stated that he has a proposal for
consideration. He feels the vast
majority of the citizens will embrace his proposal. He’d like to get an option and eventually purchase
the building just north of the current library.
Install new bathrooms and do some general prep work at the new library
site for eventual use as City Hall. Once
the bathrooms and prep work are completed, temporarily move the Library into
the building. Tear down the current
library building and the building to the north and construct a new 6,000 sq ft
building using pretty much the same proposed floor plan. Move the Library into the newly constructed
building and finish remodeling the site at
Council member Fritz proposes an election in the amount of $450,000,
with $100,000 earmarked for the initial prep work at
Under council member Fritz’s proposal, all sides are giving a little,
the total price of the bond is knocked down by $100,000, the building at 221 N
Main Street is not demolished, two older buildings on Main Street that are not
in the best of condition are demolished, and even though the new library
building won’t be 9,000 sq feet, it will have more finished space than the
previous plan.
Council member Fritz stated that his goal is to have a plan that is
widely endorsed by the citizens. He has
visited with people who voted “yes” and those that voted “no”, and he feels
that his proposed plan will get the vast majority of people on board. He doesn’t want the 60% solution, he wants
the 90% solution.
In addition to council member Fritz’s proposal, he also made the following
offer. If the committee endorses his
proposal and the city council agrees to put it on the ballot and if the bond
election vote for this plan passes but does not get 75%, he will personally
write a check to the Library Foundation for $1000.00 on the day the Library is
moved into the new library site (221 N Main Street). If the bond issue fails (needs 60% to pass),
he will resign his city council post at the conclusion of the first council
meeting after the election is certified and he will not seek or accept a
position on the City Council, Library Board or Library Foundation before
September 1, 2009.
Council member Fritz also stated that if his plan is not chosen, he
would ask those that have proposed other plans on this committee to make the
same personal promise and financial commitment.
There was discussion on future expansion plans of the library and the
possibility of moving the Fire Station and using that property for the
expansion. There was also discussion on
using the open property behind City Hall for expansion purposes. There was discussion on the reason why the
bond issue failed. Council members Canny
and Fritz stated the reasons they heard are the cost was too much, the size is
too big and why tear down the nicest building on
There was discussion on the amount of space needed to house the current
collection. Board member Steward stated
that the current collection would need 4900 sq ft. At this time there is approximately 1500 sq
ft. There was also discussion on the
report that was done by George Lawson.
At this time the Library has exceeded the circulation number estimated
by the Lawson report. With the shortage
of space, Library Director Laura Urbanek is having to pull un-circulated books
off the shelf sooner than she would like.
There was discussion on the size of the building. The majority of the committee is standing
fast on the 9000 sq ft vs. the 6000 sq ft proposed by council member
Fritz. Mayor Juhl threw out the
possibility of having the program/community room at City Hall instead of the
Library and asked if the 6000 sq ft would be sufficient. There was no definite indication either way.
Council member Canny asked if any the other members had any ideas. There was discussion on rescinding the
current reverse referendum and passing a second one allowing for both
projects. Board member DeWald stated
that he has a problem with tying the Library money with the City Hall
money. He’s concerned with cost
overruns.
Committee
member’s comments are as follows:
Board member
DeWald – Roland is a good community and he doesn’t want to see the community
split 60/40 over the library issue. He
feels the library is important to the community. He stated that when he first heard the
numbers from the Lawson report he was against it. Then the more he looked into it, it was
better to bite the bullet now instead of giving it to someone else in the
future. He’s not beholding to the
building and has no sentimental attachment to it. He’s taking the long term view of getting
something new instead of putting money into old. His stand point is the 6000 sq ft would meet
the needs of the library if the program/community room is located at City Hall,
but he wants the future expansion options clearly defined. At this time, his idea of clearly defined is
to have the Fire Station moved now and the property available for expansion at
any time.
Foundation
member Danielson – Like to look at expanding the proposed building option
presented by council member Fritz using the open property behind City Hall
making an “L” shaped building. The “L”
shaped addition could remain unfinished and finished off at a later date. She is also curious about City Hall housing
the program/community room.
Council
member Canny – If the building is built right, you can easily add to it at a
later date. He doesn’t see any sense in
tying up unused space. He’d like to stick
with a rectangle building. He doesn’t
feel it is necessary to have 9000 sq ft.
He feels they can do with 6000 sq ft, if not they may have to give up
the program/community room. He is also
concerned that the Library is not accessible to all the residents of
Roland. This project has been in the
works for many years and it’s time to keep it going. He would like the rest of the committee
members to look at compromising on the 9000 sq ft.
Board member
Steward – Can’t see the 6000 sq ft building coming in at $500,000. She would like to see more firm numbers.
Council
member Fritz – He’s very disappointed that the two groups came in with the same
exact plan. If they intend to present
the same plan, he feels there will be a very active “NO” campaign.
Foundation
member Shadlow – She has learned that you don’t leave a lot of numbers in the
air, like purchasing this building. If
someone had looked harder at it, maybe they wouldn’t have had to pay so much
for it. She too at first thought the
9000 sq ft was too big, but after looking at the numbers the space will fill
right in. She doesn’t want to short
change the community. She doesn’t want
the community to have to have multiple bonds within the next five, ten or
fifteen years.
Chair Mayor
Juhl – Asked the committee members to go in the spirit of compromise. He’d like to see the Library started by the
end of the year, or be ready to start construction first thing next spring.
There was
public input at this time from Linda Wright.
She stated that 9000 sq ft does seem like a lot space, but they visited
several libraries around the State and the one thing the Librarian’s told them
was that they wished they had built a bigger building. She’d hate to see the size cut back. She also addressed the issue of having the
program/community room at City Hall. The
reason for Story Time and the program room is to get the kids to check out
books. Board member Steward stated that
Library Director Urbanek has mentioned that the number of books checked out has
gone down since they have moved Story Time to the new site.
There was
also public input at this time from Ernest Ruben. He stated that he is new to town, and has
attended several of the council meetings and has read the past minutes
regarding the Library project. He’s
concerned with the Foundation accepting pledges. Most pledges come in over a period of time,
but once the building is constructed the contractor wants paid. Foundation member Shadlow stated that they
are only tracking pledges for two years, anything beyond that will be used for
future expansion and projects.
With no
further business at this time, DeWald moved adjournment of the meeting at 8:34
p.m., seconded by Canny. All were in
favor. The next regular committee
meeting will be Tuesday, February 6, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. at the new library site
(
_____________________________________ __________________________________________
Mayor Samuel
Juhl, Chair Deneen
Frost, City Clerk