2/4/2009 10:12:00 AM Library up for another council vote
Ryan Dostalek ConnectFitchburg.com
Yes, that library, the one voters approved - or didn't approve, depending on your point of view - last November. The Fitchburg Common Council has agreed - again - to consider a resolution approving construction and operation of a library.
Or maybe not. The exact provisions of the resolution and the council's support for it are still uncertain.
The agreement followed a three-hour discussion with members of the city's Library Board on Jan. 28.
Library supporters say the council's endorsement is essential to solicit donations. The council must also authorize bonds for construction.
Supporters have said they will raise $4 million in donations to complement the $10 million in bonds issued by the city, although it's unclear if the council will authorize the bonds before donations reach $4 million.
In November, voters approved a referendum authorizing $10 million to construct a library but turned down a referendum authorizing an additional $1 million in annual operating costs.
At the Jan. 28 meeting, the council reviewed the board's proposal to reduce operating costs and efforts to serve residents throughout the city; the council asked for this information when it met in November following the referendums.
At that meeting, Mayor Tom Clauder broke a tie vote by voting against a resolution approving construction.
Alders indicated they would approve construction if the library qualified for funding under the federal government's economic stimulus program. (The city has submitted it as one of four "shovel-ready" projects.) However, several alders still expressed reservations about proposed site (near City Hall) and operating costs.
A simple majority on the council is required to issue bonds.
The council will consider the resolution when it meets Feb. 24.
Ald. Jason Williams said he was more supportive of the library after learning that it might be possible to contract with the Dane County Library System to provide bookmobile service to the Jamestown and Belmar neighborhoods, although Ald. Andy Potts said it was probably more important to provide service to the Belmar neighborhood since the Meadowridge branch of the Madison library was within walking distance of the Jamestown neighborhood.
Preliminary discussions indicate that an hour of bookmobile service per week for a year would cost about $22,000. The bookmobile currently provides five hours of service per week in Fitchburg.
Alds. Richard Bloomquist, Bill Horns and Andy Potts said they still questioned whether the site near City Hall was appropriate. Ald. Darren Stucker had several reservations about the proposed library.
Branches not feasible now
Board members said it wasn't feasible to open a branch library or two smaller libraries instead of a main library. Smaller branch locations would be considered later, but it was essential to provide a complete collection at one location instead of smaller, duplicate collections at two sites, said Debra Johnson, interim library director.
Marykay Zimbrick, vice president of the board, said the most viable way to provide service to all residents was to work with other existing organizations.
Clauder said he was "flabbergasted" when the council started discussing branch locations.
"So much time was spent on (selecting) this location that I get sick thinking about it," he said. "Marykay, I couldn't be in the back seat with you more (on this issue)."
Phil Sveum, board treasurer, said purchasing a different site probably would have cost $600,000 - $800,000. (The city owns the site near City Hall). Sveum said 13 sites were considered before selecting three for additional study. Zimbrick characterized site selection as " a very thorough process," based on criteria from a consulting firm, and which included several public meetings and listening sessions.
Ald. Steve Arnold said the Fitchburg library should be viewed as part of a network of libraries. It didn't make much sense to serve a population at the edge of the system when the area is served by another library, he said.
Arnold said thee city's plans for growth show the eastern part of the city would be a likely site for a branch location.
Bloomquist asked why volunteers couldn't be used more extensively to reduce operating costs.
Mary Ann Peterson with the Dane County Library Service said volunteers are extensively used, but that volunteers had other obligations and weren't as dependable as employees, nor were they familiar with contemporary library practices. Moreover, even volunteers who had retired from libraries might find that their training was out of date, he said.
"Libraries are really about connecting people to information" instead of simply shelving books, said Ellsworth Brown, director and secretary of the Wisconsin Historical society and former president of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh who was recently appointed to the board.
Reducing hours counterproductive?
Johnson's revised budget cut operating costs by reducing the hours of operation (40 hours the first year, 55 the second, and 65 hours, as required by standards, the third year) and by reclassifying several positions. However, she questioned reducing hours would be counterproductive. "I'm not sure people would be totally crazy about it," she said.
Zimbrick said residents may question why, after having spent all that money, the library wasn't open when they wanted to use it or lacked the desired materials.
Limited hours would also deter users from other communities, whose use was perhaps the easiest source of revenue, Johnson said. Libraries receive $2 per volume from residents from another municipality.
Reducing the hours of operation reduces the value of library service without offering proportional savings, said Ald. Steve Arnold.
Sveum said 12,000 Fitchburg residents have library cards and check out 350,000 items annually.
Brown said library use has a rhythm, with seniors tending to arrive early, parents with young children arriving in the early afternoon, followed by latchkey kids,
adults and junior high and high school students.
Ald. Roger Tesch said overall library use increased after Madison open new branch libraries.
Johnson said the biggest factor in operating costs were the standards established by the Dane County Library System, which are some of the strongest and most specific in the state. The standards were revised last year, following approval by the county board and by every library in the county except one, she said.
The city could decide not to adhere to those standards, but would then still have to pay library taxes to the county library system. Within a few years, those taxes are expected to exceed $1 million annually.
Libraries can be exempt from county standards for three of 10 years, and Johnson anticipates asking for an exemption for the first two years.
The 19.5 library employees lrgely the required collection size, she said. She expected the library to attract 200,000 visitors and distribute 500,000 volumes within five years.
"Everything suggests this (site) will be a high-traffic area," she said.
