Library poised for makeover thanks to grant

Plunkett Raysich Architects was hired earlier this month to design $1.1 million in improvements to the Niederkorn Library.

The Milwaukee firm was the lowest of four bidders for the project and, more importantly, is familiar with the library so it can hit the road running, officials said.

That’s important because a state grant being used to pay for the work requires the city to begin the project by July 1 “which means we need to get the design started — probably last week would have been better,” City Engineer Roger Strohm told the Board of Public Works on Dec. 10.

The grant from the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Flexible Facilities Program will fund renovations to 35% of the library building, officials said in announcing the award in October.

“It’s not a complete remodel,” Strohm told the board, but it will allow the building to create a few rooms, upgrade the restrooms, replace the floors and update the lighting and internet services.

The city had budgeted $275,000 to repair two air conditioning units next year — a project that’s been needed for more than a year — and Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said that will be rolled into the renovation work.

By doing that, he said, the city won’t have to separately bid the work and may be able to reduce the cost.

“Hopefully doing it this way we can bring it in for less than $275,000,” he said, and use the extra funds either to cover any cost overruns  or “return it to the taxpayers.”

Strohm said the city reached out to 10 architectural firms when seeking bids, and four responded.

Plunkett Raysich “is a well qualified firm,” he noted.

The library project has been a goal for Library Director Tom Carson, who noted when the grant was announced that the improvements were identified by an architectural firm three or four years ago.

There will be major changes on the main level of the library, he said, with virtually everything rearranged.

The grant will fund new flooring, a new, smaller checkout desk and the creation of two study rooms and a group study room, something Carson said patrons have been asking for. One of the rooms will be set up for telemedicine, he added.

All the library’s technology, including its computers, will be updated, he said.

A significant number of electrical outlets will be added and a charging station installed so people can use and charge their devices.

Lower bookcases are planned, giving patrons a better, more inviting view from the library’s expansive windows and creating a more welcoming facility.

On the lower level, the bathrooms will be updated and a separate children’s bathroom added that can be accessed from the children’s library, Carson said.

In addition, the community room will be updated and the kitchen revamped.

The grant funds need to be spent by October 2026, Carson said, adding he hopes work will begin in March. While there may be times when the library is closed — such as when new flooring is installed — Carson said he expects the building will be open through much of the work.