Caledonia library-1 - L ibrary millage request 1 Liz Reyna...

Library millage request, 1
Liz Reyna
CJR 481
02-05-09
Library millage request considered before the board, to be voted on in May
Caledonia residents may be in jeopardy of losing the township’s only library.
After nearly 28 years at its home at the United Brethren Church on Emmons Street, the
Caledonia Township Branch Library is practically falling apart due to electrical, structural and
water problems.
Staff and visitors share one restroom, have to drink out of bottled waters because of a
contaminated water supply, and frequently have to go off-site to hold public meetings.
The water situation in particular, said Jane Heiss, Caledonia Library branch manager,
may be the last chapter of the story before the building is completely condemned.
“The situation is very serious,” said Heiss. “If the millage is not passed I don’t
think we can stay in this building. There will be no more library.”
The Caledonia Township Board held a meeting Feb. 4 in order to discuss a millage
request, scheduled to be reviewed in May, about the proposed 19,000-square-foot new township
library.
Library representatives presented their proposal to the board, but township members were
debated thoroughly, said Township Clerk Jennifer Christian, and decided to discuss the issue
further on Feb. 19.
The new library, to be built on 92nd Street, would cost the township approximately .2
mils.

Library millage request, 2
For homeowners with a $200,000 home, this would be equal to the cost of one book, or
$20 a year.
Millage for the library would include the cost of operation and maintenance.
Because the library would be expanded from about 2,500 to about 20,000 square feet, the
cost of maintenance and operation would be high, said Richard Robertson, Township Treasurer.
That is to be expected, he added, with such a huge gain in square-footage. The
township cost of operating could be anywhere from 17,000 to 40,000 dollars.
Robertson said the township has been setting aside money for a new
library for years, so it should be able to handle this cost.
The campaign for a new library holds nearly 6,000 dollars in past reserves,
plans to raise $1 million dollars more with the help of the local community and intends to receive
more than $2.28 million from the millage.
The projected budget for the library is $3.83 million.
But this is not the first time the library millage has gone before the board.
In 2005, a non-profit organization named The Friends of the Caledonia Township Library
brought before the board its first millage request about the proposed library.