Community Members and Carroll Public Library Trustees pictured (from left): Unidentified; CJ Niles; Trustee, Summer Parrott’ Trustee, Jacob Fiscus; Trustee, Sondra Rierson; Trustee, Janet Auge; and Glenn Babb
Danielle Hermann and Joe Feldmann of OPN Architects Inc. were both present at Monday night’s Carroll City Council meeting to discuss the options available for paring down costs on the original $7.4 million estimate of relocating city hall offices and renovating the current space for an addition to the public library. The three conceptual options they brought with were aimed at reducing the costs to roughly $5 million dollars. They included minimal changes to the gifted Commercial Savings Bank building for city offices and using whatever was left for remodeling the city hall space for the library. Another option was to add on to the Commercial Savings Bank property, move the library and leave city office in the current space. The final option would be to keep both city offices and the library in the current building and add on to the north, east and south sides. Community member, Marilyn Setzler, asked the council if they were really considering turning down the Moehn and Milligan’s $1 million gift of the building. Former Mayor and Carroll businessman, Adam Schweers, said this really is all about putting things in perspective. He said from his point of view, the initial cost does not seem too high at all when you factor in that two buildings are being renovated and that the option for actually providing the needed space for library programming is most efficiently and effectively address with the option of moving city offices and expanding into the existing space. He added if the total were $7.4 million, that does not necessarily mean that the whole amount will be issued in a tax levy.
Carroll Public Library Trustees said the general public is having a hard time grasping the fact that the total amounts presented in OPN’s original estimates were basically for two separate projects. Trustee Jacob Fiscus said even though the library foundation has committed to fundraising for the project, that group can’t begin to predict the numbers they are going to be able to commit and they really can’t even arrive at a target number until a direction is developed and all stakeholders support the selected project.
Mayor Eric Jensen and the majority of the council agreed they don’t want to see a partial project or one that does not address the space needed for the library’s programming. They do, however, want to assess wants versus needs in providing a plan that has the potential for a measure of success in acquiring more than 50 percent of referendum votes. The city will provide OPN with more directives after a city debt evaluation takes place at the next council meeting on Monday, Feb. 27. Full audio of that portion of the meeting can be found below.
OPN Options Conversation Part 1
OPN Options Conversation Part 2
