| 4/28/2009 11:21:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| GRAND GIFT — Fort Community Credit Union gave a $150,000 donation to the Dwight Foster Public Library expansion and renovation project on Monday afternoon. The donation secures the naming rights for a new meeting room, which will be called the “Fort Community Credit Union Community Room.” The $150,000 is the first major donation the library’s capital campaign has received since the Fort Community Foundation announced a $1.5 million “challenge grant,” which makes up for half of the fundraising needed for the $5.5 million project. Pictured above during the check passing in front of the library are Fort Community Credit Union Vice President and CFO Ed Jiongco, credit union president Ron Vogel, library director Connie Meyer, Fort Atkinson City Manager John Wilmet and capital campaign chair Jim Fitzpatrick. — Daily Union photo by James Debilzen. |
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Fort Credit Union gives
$150,000 to library redo
By James Debilzen
Union staff writer
The Dwight Foster Public Library in Fort Atkinson received its first substantial donation Monday afternoon toward efforts to renovate and expand the facility.
Fort Community Credit Union President Ron Vogel handed a $150,000 check to library director Connie Meyer as the community effort to raise $1.5 million toward the $5.5 million project got under way.
"We're sure this project is very worthwhile and means a lot to the community," Vogel said. "We're proud to be a part of that."
"It's a huge boost for the library expansion project," Meyer said. "It's great to have these gifts committed early on because it allows us to move forward with the project as we know we have people on board."
The financial institution secured the naming rights for a new meeting room through its donation. The space will be called the "Fort Community Credit Union Community Room."
After years of planning, the Fort Atkinson City Council gave the library approval to move forward with the project on Sept. 16, 2008. The council's approval authorized library staff to begin a campaign to raise 55 percent, or $3 million, of the total pricetag for remodeling the existing 21,000 square feet of space and adding 12,000 square feet of new space.
The Fort Atkinson Community Foundation approved a $1.5 million "challenge grant" that makes up for half of the fundraising needed. To receive the grant, the remaining $1.5 million must be raised from new private donations by July 1, 2010. The money can be raised in the form of cash, stocks or valid pledges.
Currently, the library is in the planning phase on two fronts, Meyer said, identifying them as the "capital campaign track" and the "design track."
"We're beginning work on the design of the building, starting with the outside, doing the surveying and the soil sampling," she said. "Then we'll be moving forward with the design of the building itself and the interior layout. That work will happen over the summer.
"The fundraising work that's going on right now is (the private phase) of the campaign we're wrapping up before we go public," Meyer added. "We're anticipating having the public campaign kickoff event in July. Then we'll have one year to raise the funds, starting in July through June 2010."
The capital campaign track focuses on raising the matching $1.5 million to go with the Fort Community Foundation's gift of the same amount.
"The challenge to the community is to raise the remaining $1.5 million," Meyer said. "We're very excited to be having these large gifts and we'll be announcing them as we move forward."
Built in 1916, the downtown library has undergone two additions, in 1931 and 1983. In the latter, architects at the time drew up a long-range plan that said the facility would outgrow the added space in 20 years.
Today, the library is in need of more room to store its computers, CDs, videotapes and DVDs, items that the library did not own in the early 1980s.
With the city having to borrow $2.5 million to cover the costs not raised through the fundraising, the principal and interest on the long-term debt for 20 years would be approximately $175,000 per year. That amounts to 20 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, translating into $40 per year for the owner of a home assessed at $200,000.
Historically, the city has used the formula of 55 percent from fundraising and 45 percent from city borrowing to finance library expansions.
Space in the current facility is at a premium and the library's collection is capped at its current 84,000 items. The state's guidelines show that for a community the size of Fort Atkinson, the collection should number approximately 91,777.
Among other problems, available seating in the library is about half of what the state recommends and some aisles and areas do not meet accessibility requirements set in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Crowded work spaces are limiting the staff's ability to work efficiently, Meyer said.
For example, Meyer said, the staff lounge area has been converted into a crowded staff workroom and employees have used nearly every square inch of their work space.
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