Study to create a vision for ‘library of the future’

The Saukville Village Board contracted Milwaukee-based design firm HGA earlier this month to study the Oscar Grady library building and design a renovation, expansion or new building.

Library Director Emily Laws said the study, which will cost as much as $30,650, will identify areas for improvement in library services.

The specific areas of need, she said, will be determined through the study.

“The goal for the study is to determine library building needs as related to services for the community,” she said.

Village Administrator Dawn Wagner said the study doesn’t commit the village to any future action.

“Once the study is completed, it is a tool,” she said. “It doesn’t mean we are going to do an addition.”

It will instead give recommendations that the Village Board can act on when it chooses, Wagner said.

“Whether that’s in five years, 10 years or 20 years,” she said.

The proposal from HGA lays out four basic services offered by the study:

ν An architect, library planner and interior designer will work with library staff to review the library building and current operations, which will cost the village $6,000.

ν Along with library staff, village and library board members and Saukville residents, the firm will create “a vision for the Oscar Grady Public Library of the future,” which will cost $4,000.

ν The firm will present library staff and/or the board with the cost estimate and high-level plans to renovate Oscar Grady and to build a new library building, which will cost $5,000.

ν After library officials decide which plan to pursue, the firm will create a site plan, floor plans and a series of renderings of proposed renovated or constructed interior and exterior spaces, which will cost $10,500.

Village President Andy Hebein said a recommendation to construct a new library would be “one of the more dramatic outcomes,” and is not currently being considered by the Village Board.

Whatever recommendation HGA ultimately brings will be considered according to the village’s priorities, fiscal standing and long-term plan, he said.

The proposal guarantees as many as seven meetings between the HGA team and library officials, including two meetings with the public and community leaders and a final presentation to library and village officials.

There is an additional $2,000 cost for estimating project costs, a not to exceed $650 fee for travel and miscellaneous expenses and a $2,500 charge for the transfer of the library’s hand-drawn plans into a digital design program.

Laws said HGA was chosen over two other design firms because the firm is based in Milwaukee and the project manager lives in Cedarburg. The manager also gave an in-person instead of an over-the-phone initial consultation, unlike the other firms.

Laws said the study will help the village and library plan for future projects.

“It will provide us with a useful tool for planning capital improvements and the stewardship of library impact fees,” she said.

Impact fees, which were used to fund the study, are one-time payments charged to developers or builders for capital projects.

The standard library impact fee charged for a single-family home is $560, a duplex is $1,220 and a three-family or more development is $420 per unit and $280 per studio apartment.

The library impact fee fund is currently at about $184,000.

Wagner said the study will also ensure the Village Board makes an informed decision on adjusting impact fees.

“It’s two-fold, looking at if we should continue collecting impact fees and letting us plan for the future,” she said.

The study is not intended to address any glaring, immediate challenges, Hebein said, but has been a part of the village’s planning for a long time.

“We don’t wait until there is problems, but plan ahead to address them before they come up,” he said.

The study’s conceptual plans are expected to be complete by the end of the year.