Minutes of the Meeting of the Special Library Committee
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Wehrle at 7:06 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Roll Call

Members Present: Mayor Wehrle, Ted Anderson, Marge Sherwin, Stuart Harper

Members Absent: Mark Bartels, Kathy Addison, Kathy Kolb

Staff Present: Scot Simpson, Alan Tollefson

Guests: Frank Fiorenza, Potosi Village President; Rick Udelhofen, Grant County Historical Society/Bloomington Village President; Paul Thares, U-W Extension; Kyle Vesperman; Sandy Molzhon; LaVon Hall, Grant County Genealogical Society; Kim Leamy, Jaycees; Charley Preusser, Grant County Historical Society; Judy Wehrle; Eric Urtes, Strand Associates

Minutes

There were two amendments to the minutes as mailed: the fourth bullet on the third page should say "right-of-way" not "right away" and the comment in the third bullet from the bottom of the third page was made by Marge Sherwin, not Kathy Addison. Sherwin moved, second by Anderson, that the minutes be approved as amended. Carried unanimously.

Follow Up From Previous Meeting

In addition to the meeting of this committee on June 29, there was a meeting on August 2 of the Chamber Tourism Committee with representation from the Rock County Historical and Genealogical Societies at which the idea of adding a historical museum to the library expansion project was discussed. It was noted that the Library Board started on a process to enlarge the current public library, but that other groups may have needs that are compatible and a larger project might improve prospects for funding.

Mayor Wehrle passed around a map of the area showing how it was possible to visit 20 or more cities in Southwest Wisconsin that have tourism potential while never passing through Lancaster. He pointed out that Lancaster needs to market itself as a place to visit and a museum/library/cultural complex would provide a reason to stop here. Such a project could help tie together other attractions that exist here, all within a rectangle approximately 2 blocks wide and 6 blocks long.

Frank Fiorenza described the Potosi Brewery project, which has been progressing for 5 ½ years with about two years to go to completion. The State Historical Society estimated that a Potosi Museum should attract 30,000 people per year, and that estimate came before the project gained designation as a National Brewery Museum. Potosi expects potential attendance of at least 50,000. He noted that Potosi beat out Milwaukee and St. Louis for the national designation.

The project is projected to cost $3.8 million and, after receiving an anticipated grant will be within $800,000 of its goal. Only $1,000 has been spent by the taxpayers of Potosi. Funding has come from a combination of fund raisers, donations, four annual banquets and significant grants. Potosi used Ayers Associates of Madison to write the grants. Their fee was small compared to the resulting successful grants - $2,000 in fees resulted in a $130,000 grant; $6,000 led to $400,000. Mr. Fiorenza recommended using professionals to identify grant sources and complete grant applications.

The brewery project has led to plans to restore the downtown area of Potosi and two new businesses have already opened in anticipation of the museum. There is the possibility of having enhancements to the National Wildlife area and Potosi hopes to attract specialty shops such as those found in Galena and Mineral Point. Potosi has always viewed its project as benefiting the surrounding area of Southwest Wisconsin and the Tri-State region.

There was discussion of the park land on which the library sits. Research has shown that although Mr. Ryland intended to leave his land to the City with several restrictions, these restrictions were not accepted and his heirs completed the transaction without any restrictions.

Ted Anderson said he got involved because of the library project and the library's need for improvement and expansion, but he can see the vision of the larger project. He urged keeping as much green space as possible. He also noted the example of Darlington, where the close proximity of a new library and a historical museum provides a drawing card for that community.

Eric Urtes of Strand showed a concept drawing he prepared showing one way a project combining a library expansion with a historical museum and a "band shell" could be done. He noted that Strand has worked with the City in the past on projects such as the renovation of City Hall and the Police and Fire stations. Strand also reviewed and verified the report prepared for the Library by George Lawson of Ames, Iowa.

At this point, the group reviewed the concept drawing. One question was on the size of the museum. The drawing shows the museum taking approximately 1,500 square feet from the existing library space plus a possible addition to the South. It was noted that the current Cunningham museum has about 3,000 square feet, some of which is devoted to rest rooms and stairway. The concept drawing shows both of these features incorporated elsewhere.

It was pointed out that in addition to the Cunningham Museum, there are Lancaster memorabilia scattered "all over town." In addition, the Grant County Genealogical Society has a large supply of records taking up a room in LaVon Hall's house with more genealogical records at a home in Platteville.

The Lawson report suggested an addition to the library of roughly 5,000 square feet. The concept drawing shows a library addition of 5,000 - 6,000 square feet. There was a question on parking shown on the north side of the park. This would be diagonal parking within the right-of-way and would take up some green space, but not nearly as much as a parking lot. There would still be a drop-off area and small parking lot next to the building, especially for disabled patrons.

The drawing shows a covered patio area, rather than a traditional band shell. The idea would be to make the patio usable for library programs as well as band concerts. It would be incorporated into the building itself as opposed to standing alone in one corner or other of the park, making it adaptable to more uses. A coffee cart could even be incorporated here. The building itself would help serve as an acoustical backdrop for band concerts. In addition, the covering of the patio would add color to the site. Such a covering, which straps on to a metal structure, should last 10 years and is relatively inexpensive.

It was pointed out that there had been a suggestion to incorporate the Chamber of Commerce office as part of the project. This was not shown in the drawing, but could easily be added. There was support for such an addition.

There was a suggestion for an art gallery. It was pointed out that the concept drawing envisions a meeting room below the expanded library space. It might be possible to incorporate space for art somehow within that. Another suggestion was for the "Dewey Church" to be turned into an art gallery or coffee shop.

Scot Simpson suggested that this project could become a focal point, an "energy point" for the community. He noted that there is already a good deal of energy generated by the library and the summer band concerts. He suggested that the project could be phased in. The library already has momentum and could go forward with other components to follow. It was suggested that the more components in the project, the better the chance for grants. Granting agencies like "home runs" and visible projects.

Representatives from the Historical Society said that at its last meeting it was decided not to pursue moving the current museum to the "Dewey Church" as had been contemplated at one time. There was support for looking at combination project with the library. On the other hand, everyone wants to see the "Dewey Church" preserved and put to good use.

There was discussion as to whether the various "historical groups" (Grant County Historical Society, Grant County Genealogical Society, Dewey Heritage Society, informal Lancaster history group, Historic Preservation Commission) could unify around this project. There was a feeling that they should be able to. The Historical Society does have some money in a building fund and definitely needs expansion.

Mayor Wehrle had the following suggestions:

• Have a map to identify all local historical areas.
• Develop brochures to direct people to local and area sites.
• Focus on the Hwy61/County A intersection as a "happy place" as opposed to the Court House which sometimes has negative associations for people.
• Set up a walking tour and/or driving tour in the historical rectangle.

The City Historic Preservation Commission is working on getting National and State historic designations for the downtown area. This will attract people who like to visit all such places and often use a checklist. Lancaster already has historic designation for the Court House, City Hall, the Post Office and three of the monuments in the Court House square. Other sites, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright house should also be a drawing card.

Regionalism was stressed as a way to move forward together and also to attract grants. Community Development Block Grants and DNR grants tend to look for "big picture" items and downtown development. A cultural center or community center should be able to attract such grants.

Next Steps

Next we need more feedback on the concept plan presented by Strand. Everyone was encouraged to pass around the drawing and share with others in the community and bring back input to the next meeting. The Historical Society will take back to its next meeting, as will the Library Board. Eric Urtes will research other communities that have done projects like this for possible site visits. Kyle Vesperman suggested promoting the idea at the Harvest Parade.

There was discussion of whether to keep the process together or separate into groups based on individual uses (library; museum; band). Consensus seemed to be that each group would have to do work on its own, but that for things such as grant applications the total project would have to be presented. Scot Simpson suggested there were at least four groups besides the library to gain support from:

• Grant County Historical Society
• Grant County Genealogical Society
• Dewey Society
• City of Lancaster Historic Preservation Commission

The community band needs to be contacted for input as well.

Most likely, the City of Lancaster will be the unifying agent for this project. The Library is funded by the City. It would be the City that would apply for grants with other groups as components. The project would need to be sold as a package, with the City as agent. The building would be City owned, with long term leases to the Historical Society and any other participating groups.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be for feedback on the concept plan presented by Strand. Kim Leamy asked if anyone from an art club or any other group has come forward wanting to be involved in the project. It was agreed that there was still time for this to happen. There will be more public meetings and input will always be welcome.

The next meeting was set for Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Alan M. Tollefson, recorder

Library Expansion Project | Community Minutes | History of Facilities | Historical Society | Needed Assistance | Space Estimate | Process | Band Needs