by Dennis Dalman
(Editor’s note: The discussions about a possible Sartell branch library continue. The following story is a summary of what council members talked about at their Sept. 28 meeting. For more about the library/community center issues, see two stories in this newspaper from the Sept. 14 city-council meeting. The Sartell Newsleader regrets there was not enough room to include them in the last issue.)
A branch library of 12,500-square-feet is out of the question for Sartell, according to a consensus of the Sartell City Council at its Sept. 28 meeting.
Council member David Peterson made a motion that the topic of a proposed Sartell library be discussed at the Sept. 28 meeting. He said the council must meet as soon as possible (at the Oct. 12 council meeting) with the St. Cloud-based Great River Regional Library to determine options because GRRL and the city council are trying to guess what each other is thinking.
“We’re both waiting for each other on the sidelines and nobody’s on the dance floor,” Peterson said.
He said the council should meet as soon as possible with members of the St. Cloud-based Great River Regional Library system. The council, he added, must figure out as soon as possible whether a relationship with GRRL will continue or if the council should break that connection. Peterson was referring to many touch-and-go issues concerning GRRL (see additional stories). He added the GRRL and city council must determine soon if there are options and exactly what those options are.
In a memo about a month ago from the GRRL to Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni, the GRRL stated the southern site chosen by the council for a community center will not be acceptable as the site for a branch library. The memo also stated that the minimum requirements for a Sartell branch library would be 12,500 square feet.
The GRRL, Peterson said, has offered to have meeting sessions and working groups with Sartell residents, but such things have not happened. The city, he added, must ask questions and get answers form GRRL. So far, he said, the communications have been “shuttle diplomacy with lag time,” leading to a stalemate. Peterson suggested calling meetings on Mondays when city-council meetings are not scheduled so the council, the GRRL and the public can discuss library options for Sartell. A lot of Sartell residents do want a library, Peterson said.
Mayor Sarah Jane Nicoll said she has always spoken in favor of some kind of library for Sartell but not necessarily a traditional, large, full-service facility. She envisioned something more on the order of a children’s library space with programming and technology, perhaps not with traditional check-out capabilities and maybe with donated resources. There could also be a crafts area for children or activities via the school district’s community-education program. During her door-do-door political campaign nearly five years ago, Nicoll said she would mention her ideas for a library and most people always agreed with her conception of what a Sartell library should be. A 12,500 square-foot library, she said, was never expected.
Council member Steve Hennes said he agreed, mostly, with Nicoll’s comments. In early discussions of a library, years ago, everyone agreed that about 2,000 square feet would be enough for a library facility – or about the size of the current Sartell city-council room. The entire Sartell City Hall is one-half the size of the 12,500 feet expected by the GRRL, Hennes noted. An estimated GRRL expectation of $500,000 for library materials was not expected by Sartell residents, either, he added. Hennes said all amenities, including some kind of library, should be built all under one roof – as a community center.
Council member Pat Lynch also said he recalls a community-center task force, of which he was a member, recommended a branch library of about 2,000 square feet. He said people most passionate about a library hijacked the community-center process, creating a situation that put the city at a stalemate regarding library and community-center plans. Lynch said he hears from a lot of people who think there is no need for a library in Sartell these days, that they say it’s a waste of taxpayer money. He said in his opinion there is no way Sartell can build a 12,500 square-foot library and no way the city can build both a community center and a separate library. There are several thousand Sartell residents now using the libraries in St. Cloud and Waite Park. That, Lynch said, is proof those facilities are being used and perhaps proof Sartell does not need a branch library.
Peterson said the city should use the already accrued $1.6 million in sales-tax revenue for a library portion of the community center. Mayor Nicoll, however, said that money was already added to the estimated cost of the $11-million center.
People, Nicoll said, will be surprised how little the city will get for $11 million and that priorities must be determined. She also noted when Sartell voters approved the regional half-cent sales tax in 2006, the ballot questions mentioned a community-resource center of which a library was only a part.
Council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom said so many people have worked so hard to get to this point, that Sartell residents voted in 2006 for a library. It’s important to open up talks with GRRL, she added.
All council members at the Sept. 28 meeting agreed there should be ongoing talks with GRRL to see if any give-and-take options can be achieved, to see if the GRRL will relax its space requirements or its opposition to the south site for a community center.
Peterson, saying that there should be no more delays, suggested the council invited GRRL officials to the Monday, Oct. 12 council meeting.
Degiovanni said she will meet with members of the Sartell Friends of the Library group so they can appoint one or more spokespersons who can give creative input to the GRRL at the Oct. 12 meeting.
Public forum
Before the official council business began Sept. 28, several people addressed the council during the Public Forum session, during which anyone can speak their concerns for up to a limit of three minutes.
Kevin Brink said the council should consider buying the training-center building at the former Sartell paper-mill site for use as a community center.
Nancy Von Erpe told the council she appreciates the hard work it has done on behalf of a community center and library. She said a central location for the center is important but that all Sartell residents are willing to work with the council to come to a solution, using the brilliance, passion and creativity so apparent in the city.
Amanda Schreiner told the council she supports the south site for a community center, as selected by a 3-2 majority on the council. That site, she said, would be a great venue for indoor and outdoor events year-round. Schreiner also said many people she talks with consider a large, full-service library a waste of taxpayer money because most people she knows prefer to read from electronic tablets, iPads and more.