APPLETON - The city will pursue a public library building project on the site of the current library at 225 N. Oneida St., not in place of the Soldiers Square parking ramp as was previously planned.
Mayor Jake Woodford made the announcement Tuesday. The plan to build a new $34 million public library along Lawrence Street had been stalled by negotiations to bring U.S. Venture's headquarters to downtown Appleton on Bluff Site 1.
“For years we’ve known that the Appleton Public Library building has not been meeting the needs of our community,” Woodford said in a release. "We need to get this critical project moving, putting to use all that we’ve learned from studies and feedback from the people of Appleton on a responsible and actionable project.”
The city said that starting next year, the results of previous studies and community input will be used to plan a library renovation or replacement at the Oneida Street location. Previous studies indicated the library needs more space to accommodate large meetings and more efficient circulation practices.
“There has already been more than 10 years of studies and work that have gone into the library project, but 2020 certainly wasn’t something we anticipated previously,” said Rebecca Kellner, president of the Library Board of Trustees. “It’s important that, in light of circumstances, we reconsider our community’s needs balanced with the financial impact to the city, and this process will give us the ability to do so.”
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The existing library is owned and managed by the city. Remaining at the location will simplify or eliminate altogether the multiparty agreements and site acquisition issues that hampered the previous plan along Lawrence Street.
Use of the current library property will retain accessible parking on-site and maximize use of the 1,200-stall Yellow Parking Ramp, the city said. It also will put the library at the center of neighborhood revitalization efforts.
“One of the greatest things we’ve learned in our most recent building study was how essential a library could be to a dynamic neighborhood redevelopment process,” Library Director Colleen Rortvedt said.
The city said the library planning process will employ seven principles:
- Treat the library as the focal point in an overall neighborhood revitalization effort.
- Create opportunities for public input and collaboration at each step of the process.
- Steward existing community investments wherever possible. This includes considerations into the full or partial reuse of the current building and maximizing the use of the Yellow ramp.
- Ensure the project incorporates accessible parking for those with mobility needs.
- Design a project that minimizes the environmental impact and ideally lowers operating expenses.
- Deliver a cost-effective plan, maximizing taxpayer value while meeting community needs.
- Use as much information from previous studies, design work and community input as possible.
“I’m excited to get this project moving again,” Common Council President Kyle Lobner said. “This project has been on the back burner for a while now, and it’s long overdue.”
The 2020 budget prepared by former Mayor Tim Hanna and approved by the council included $300,000 for the continued planning of a new library in place of the Soldiers Square ramp, but it delayed the start of construction until 2022.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.
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Appleton pursues library building project on current site, not in place of Soldiers Square parking ramp - Post-Crescent
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