UPDATE: Patrons want library to stay downtown
STEVENS POINT County officials have drafted a lease proposal that would keep the Portage County Public Library at its downtown location for at least the next 10 years, and patrons hope the plan will be adopted.
The Portage County Library Lease Negotiations Team met behind closed doors Friday to continue efforts to reach a lease agreement for the library with the city of Stevens Point. Members then convened in open session with a proposal they now plan to send to the city that would extend the current lease for 10 years.
According to the proposal, during the first five years of the lease, the county would be responsible for a list of capital improvements to the building at an estimated cost of about $600,000. The current lease terms, which were proposed to be extended, call for the county to pay for the operation of the library in lieu of paying rent.
A list of anticipated maintenance needs compiled by Stevens Point City Engineer Alex Saunders and Portage County Facilities Director Todd Neuenfeldt outlines the $600,000 in repairs and renovations that the aging building needs.
Among them: $125,900 to repair the leaking roof; $29,100 in concrete and masonry work; a new $68,000 boiler; a $96,000 chiller; a $7,800 air-handling system; and a $120,000 temperature control system.
The repairs and replacement of the heating-air conditioning system are the most expensive and extensive on the list. The temperature-control system, for example, is 20 years old and is operated with compressed air, according to the report. Over the past four years, it has required $34,768 in repairs and could require another $50,000 in fixes soon. Replacing it with a digitally controlled system would cost $120,000.
The proposal is a counter to a recent city request that the library either pay $180,000 in annual rent to remain in the downtown building owned by the city or move to a location outside the city's downtown area.
Library patrons have expressed disappointment with the suggestion that the library relocate. Many favor the accessibility of the Main Street location.
"I would be sad if it would leave, it's really convenient for me to have it here," Megan Walhood of Stevens Point told a Stevens Point Journal Media reporter Friday as she was leaving the library.
Walhood said she typically makes a special trip to the library and patronizes other businesses while she is in the area.
Professor of literacy Leslie McClain, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, said the Main Street facility says something about the city and county.
"A public library needs to be accessible for the public, it needs to be present for people of all ages," McClain said. "It makes an important statement that you value literacy in this community."
The proposal will now be reviewed by the City Council, as the city does not have a separate negotiating committee like the county.
Sari Lesk can be reached at 715-345-2257. Follow her on Twitter as @Sari_Lesk.