Washington Free Public Library Foundation

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the basics of the project?

3. Will tax money be used for the new library?

4. Why did you buy two buildings on the square that you're
now going to tear down? Isn't that a waste?

5. What have you done with all of Dave Elder's money?

6. Why are there tenants in the buildings that will be used
for the new library?

7. What's going to happen to the old library building?

8. When will the project be completed?

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Contact us at 319-653-2726 or submit by
email any additional questions
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1. What are the basics of the project?
The project to relocate the Washington Free Public Library calls for the construction of a new building on the south side of the square. The building will include 20,000 square feet of space for the public library and public meeting rooms and 5,000 square feet of finished basement to house, among other things, the Washington County Genealogical Library.
The estimated total project cost, including all architectural & engineering fees, demolition costs, furnishing and signage is $5,028,000. The Washington Free Public Library Foundation is currently seeking donations and grants in support of this project. To date we have secured almost $2.5 million in private pledges, donations and grants. We hope to begin construction in the spring of 2008.
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2. How will the project be funded?
The project will be funded through a strong public/private partnership. We have received over $1,000,000 in pledges from businesses and individuals to date and are continuing to seek pledges and donations. We have also received a $1,000,000 grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation. We are also seeking a Vision Iowa Community Attractions and Tourism (CAT) grant and a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust totaling more than $1,000,000. Washington County has pledged its support in the amount of $30,000. The remainder of the funds will be funded by a municipal bond, which we expect to go before the voters during the summer of 2007.
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3. Will tax money be used for the new library?
For the two years we have been working publicly on this project we have always been up front and honest about the fact that municipal funds will be a significant part of our funding structure. While we hope to raise most of the money for the project from private sources and to win major grant awards, there will need to be city tax money involved. In fact, a major municipal financial commitment is required in order to qualify for a State CAT Grant. That said, we will do everything we can to keep the tax burden for this project as low as possible.
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4. Why did you buy two buildings on the square that you're now going to tear down? Isn't that a waste?
      The Library Board has always believed in the importance of keeping the library in or near the downtown district. The proposed site location gives us the opportunity to not only meet the library's space needs for decades to come and remain tied to the heart of our community, but to also have an important, positive impact on the efforts to revitalize our town square and its surrounding area. The idea to purchase the buildings on the south side of the square was initially brought to the public in June of 2004 and from that time forward we have known that it would cost at least as much (and as it turns out more) to renovate the current buildings as to build new.
      Once we purchased the buildings, we endeavored to design a plan that would "save" the buildings. However, two central issues came to light. First, given the fact that libraries house 7-foot tall stacks of books, the load capacity of the floors in libraries are required to be 150 pounds per square foot. The options available to us were to either shore up the existing floors with a forest of pillars (which would greatly limit the flexibility of our floor plan now and in the future) or to completely remove the first and second floors and rebuild them on a steel post and beam structure. While this solution would save most of the exterior shell of the building and the brick wall currently dividing the two building, little else of the original structures would remain. Furthermore, this solution would be more complicated, time consuming, and expensive as several 100 year old, two-story brick walls would have to be braced in place and carefully worked around during demolition and construction. This lead directly to the second issue: cost.
      In addition to being a more complicated project, a renovation project would also lock us into a 34,500 square foot design, when our professional space needs assessments indicated that a building of 25,000 feet should meet our needs for decades to come.
After receiving the budget estimate on a 34,500 square foot "renovation" project and a subsequent 30,000 square foot "new construction" project on the same site, we believe that the design we are proposing is the best, most functional, most responsible use of donor and tax payer money.

Consider the savings: New construction vs. renovationon the south side of the square
	Savings
Complete demolition of existing buildings	$365,900
Reduce building footprint from 11,500 to 10,000 sq. ft. per floor	$284,300
10,000 sq.ft. basement (5,000 unfinished) vs. 11,500 sq.ft. basement	$1118,750
Substitute concrete block for brick on alley	$ 54,750
Delete third staircase and second skylight	$ 35,000

Total Anticipated Savings (construction)	$858,700

5. What have you done with all of Dave Elder's money?
With regard to the use of the funds from the Elder estate: David Elder generously left the Washington Public Library about $624,000 in his will. Of that, over $100,000 remains in trust in perpetuity in support of the on-going operation of the Washington Public Library. We use the interest from that money to annually purchase thousands of dollars worth of books, art prints, furniture and the like annually, and will virtually forever. An additional $220,000 of Dave's bequest remains in certificates of deposit in local banks, generating interest in the name of the Washington Public Library Foundation. Dave's bequest to our library will continue to support our institution long past any of our lives. We also sincerely believe that given his love of both our institution and our downtown district, Dave would be behind this project 100%.
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6. Why is there tenants in one of the buildings that will be used for the new library?
It will take time before we are ready to begin construction on the new library. In the meantime, the City's decided to help keep a business on the square by leasing that space on a short term basis. After Club Fitness lost the use of the second floor due to structural issues, the City made accommodations for the use of part of the first floor & basement of the Seifert's building. Rather than have this space continue to sit empty we believe it is best to defer maintenance costs through this lease agreements while simultaneously helping a downtown business. That said, Club Fitness does not have the inclination or wherewithal to purchase, renovate or maintain this particular property.
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7. What's going to happen to the old library building?
The current library building is owned by the City of Washngton. The future use of that building is not in the hands of the Library Foundation or the Library's Board of Trustees. That is a decision that will be made by the City Council.
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8. When will the project be completed?
It is our hope that construction of the new Washington Free Public Library on the square can begin in the spring of 2008. We are currently seeking private donations and preparing grant applications. We hope to have the project fully funded by late summer or early fall of this year. We will then have 4-6 months of planning and preparation prior to letting construction bids. We are pleased with our progress so far and are confident that we can remain on schedule.
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