By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
It was standing room only at the Common Council meeting on November 7, and it seemed evident that most of the crowd was there to show support for the inclusion in the ’24-25 budget of the proposed $3,000,000 borrowing for the Irvin L. Young Library renovation and expansion. The council had presented the library with a challenge in 2021 to raise half of the estimated cost, with the city borrowing the other half in January, 2024 if the library completed the fundraising in time. The library raised more than $2,300,000 to be added to the library reserves of $840,000.
As was known when the challenge was made, a council cannot guarantee that a future council will support a promise of this nature. Three current councilmembers were newly elected since 2021. Recently there had been some concerns expressed about the pledge. Jill Gerber had raised the question as to whether two council members who had supported the fundraising campaign would have a conflict of interest and consequently might need to recuse themselves from voting on the library funding. Additionally, one council person is a member of the Capital Campaign Leadership Committee. Jonathan McDonell, city attorney, provided an opinion that the contributions and committee membership would not represent a conflict of interest.
At the November 7 meeting, Gerber expressed concern that the public be aware that in addition to the proposed library project, the city has “a full agenda of costly projects to prioritize,” including: $1.7 million for reconstruction of Ann, Fremont and Forest Streets and resurfacing of Walworth Avenue, demolition ($300,000) or rehabilitation ($1.5 million) of the Starin Park water tower, a $10 million streets garage, the Police Department needing three new additional officers, increased expenses for the Aquatic and Fitness Center, and possible increased costs under a new agreement with UW-W for the Innovation Center. In addition, last year the citizens approved a $1.2 million referendum for fire and EMS services. Nonetheless, Gerber appreciated the many messages of support she had received for the library, and she indicated that she would continue to support the borrowing. Positive comments were also made by James Allen, David Stone and Brienne Brown.
Lukas Schreiber obviously anticipated that there would be a large number of public comments, as he offered to use a timer to keep track of the three minute limit. The first three speakers were all leaders in the fundraising efforts: Jim Winship, Jon Kachel, and Gayle Stettler. All reflected on the rewarding experience they had in garnering support for the project. Kachel stated that when asking for money, sometimes you get the door slammed, but “the door never shut.” Kristine Zaballos reminisced that her late grandmother served on the library board, whom she knew would say “thank you” to all who have contributed to the project. Zaballos called the facility a “gem.” Allen seemed surprised when no other citizens approached the podium. City Manager John Weidl opined, “I think they heard what they wanted.”
The proposed $3,000,000 borrowing in January, 2024 for the library project will be included in the budget that is presented to the council for consideration on Tuesday, November 21.
At the
