By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARAW — Renovation plans by Warsaw Community Public Library were scuttled Monday night in a tight vote by the Warsaw City Council.
Five hours of debate led to a vote minutes after midnight on Tuesday morning for a bond sought by the library to pay for $17 million in renovations.
The decision came down to the wire on a three-to-four vote that rejected the bond proposal.
Councilwoman Diane Quance made the motion to approve the bond issue. Council President Jack Wilhite and Michael Klondaris voted in favor.
Those opposed were Cindy Dobbins, Juergen Voss, Jerry Frush and Josh Finch.
The defeat will prevent the library from trying again for two years and leaves officials in a difficult position as they now must prepare to cope with the Carnegie Library’s aging infrastructure and very little money to pay for improvements.
While opponents complained about the $17 million price tag, supporters said waiting later to renovate the 100-year-old building and its mechanicals, roof, and lack of adequate handicap accessibility would become significantly more expensive as prices continue to rise.
Library officials said the annual tax impact of the bond issue for owners of a median-priced home in the district would cost about $50.
Opponents point out that the true cost, which calculates interest, would bring the total to upwards of $28 million.
Many of those who spoke at the meeting and opposed the plan said they loved the library and appreciated its importance, but many said the timing is bad because of significantly rising property taxes and uncertainty over property tax reform efforts.
Voss said he appreciates the role of the library, but said constituents he talked with are upset about property taxes.
“People are definitely stressed,” Voss said. “When I got my taxes this time around, they went up 20%. I know people whose taxes went up more than that. They went up that much last year. That means my taxes double every five years. It’s out of control.”
Wilhite expressed concerns about the future.
“Do we want our library to continue serving this community for generations to come or are we willing to risk losing it? I believe the library is currently in a vulnerable position. In my view, one or two major infrastructure failures could force it to close its doors.
Klondaris echoed Wilhite’s concerns.
“My fear is that if we say we can’t do this, we’re one catastrophe away from losing our library,” Klondaris said. “I don’t want to be responsible for that.”
Library Director Heather Barron said the library had previously scaled back its original proposal of around $22 million to a minimum level that would suffice.
Some people question why the mechanics were not better maintained over the years. Barron said many of the mechanicals have already far exceeded their life expectancy.
She said the library has a small rainy day fund that struggles to generate enough money to cover repairs or save for major projects.
The library renovation plan was one of three big capital improvement projects that have been under consideration. The other are contruction of a new library in Syracuse and and c city-county parking garage in Warsaw — both of which will soon be decided by Kociusko County leaders.
Klondaris said he does not believe the parking garage will move forward.
The county commissioners are expected to take a stand soon on the parking garage, but the county council could also have a say on the issue.
A decision on the Syracuse library is expected to happen June 11.
