Village signs extension to keep library alive

The future of the Grafton public library is at a crossroads.

The Grafton Village Board on Monday approved a one-year extension of the joint library agreement, a measure intended to allow the library to continue operating while the town and village work to create a new agreement.

Without the extension, village officials warned, the library will lose its status as a public library on June 12 and no longer be part of the Monarch Library System.

“That means we lose internet access, databases, inter-library loans and even the ability to check out any items to the public,” circulation services manager Julia Lee told the board. 

And that, according to a memo by Village Administrator Jesse Thyes, would mean “service to the public would be significantly impacted.” 

But whether the town will sign on to the extension is in doubt.

Although Village President Dan Delorit told the Village Board that Town Chairman Lester Bartel “has no doubt” the Town Board will approve the measure when it meets June 11, Bartel said in an interview Tuesday that he’s not sure the town will agree to an extension unless progress is made on a new joint library agreement.

“We’re not kicking the can down the road for another year,” Bartel said. “I want an agreement in principal by June 11. We’ve been working on this all winter.”

Last May, the Town of Grafton notified the village it was withdrawing from the joint library agreement because of concerns over rising costs, with Bartel noting that the library budget had increased 15% annually during the past three years.

But, he said, the town was clear that it wanted to remain a part of the library.

“We said we want a joint library agreement,” he said. “The town has been heavily invested in the library for decades.”

But there was no movement on a new agreement for months, Bartel said, so the Town Board drafted an agreement and sent it to the village in late March.

Delorit said the village urged the town not to cancel the joint library agreement but instead to revise it. Instead, the town formally said it was withdrawing from it.

In mid-November, he said, Bartel asked if the village was interested in a joint agreement.

“From June until November, nothing happened,” Delorit said.

The town then created a draft agreement and sent it to the village in February, Delorit said. 

The Village Board discussed the proposed draft agreement in closed session earlier this month, he said, noting Village Attorney Mike Herbrand has made changes to ensure it meets Department of Public Instruction standards.

Bartel said the draft agreement is “mostly done,” adding the village and town attorneys have both made their “legal edits.”

Last week, he said, the village asked town officials to take part in a conference call with DPI officials that led to the proposed memorandum of understanding that would extend the library agreement until June 30, 2026.

“Basically this gives us some wiggle room,” Trustee Amy Luft said. “The library, the town are going to work on cleaning up that (draft) agreement they already started and bring it back for approval.”

While the agreement extends the time frame for the new agreement until June 30, the document lists a Dec. 31 deadline for negotiation of a new agreement. If a new agreement isn’t reached by then, neither party is obligated to continue negotiations, Thyes said.

That deadline is intended to “incentivize” the town and village to reach an agreement and avoid further funding issues in 2026 and 2027, giving the village time to prepare to create a municipal library.

Trustee Lisa Uribe Harbeck expressed frustration with the time it has taken officials to work on the agreement.

“I just hope this moves forward quickly,” she said. “It’s been dragging on and dragging on for a year and a half. I think we just need to get in a room together.” 

Delorit said he asked Bartel if the town would hold a special meeting before June 11 to act on the memorandum, but he declined.

Herbrand, who said he is expects a revised draft library agreement from the town in a week or two, said town officials agree the matter has dragged on too long.

Two library officials urged the board to approve the memorandum, saying the consequences of not approving it are dire.

“If no resolution is struck before the expiration date, the USS Memorial public Library ceases to be a public library,” Nicolette Birkholz, the library’s head of youth services, said. “Immediate action needs to be taken.”

Even if the village and town were to strike a new joint agreement immediately, there isn’t enough time for it to be approved by the DPI and county before the deadline passes and the library would lose its status as a public library, she said, noting that could take as long as 90 days.

If the village moved ahead to create a municipal library, the approval process is shorter but it would still take longer than June 12.

“That leaves us with the sole option of extending the current joint library agreement,” Birkholz said. “A one-year extension allows all parties to take appropriate action.”

Lee concurred, saying that without the memorandum “these services are all at risk. Let’s protect what we built and give us a chance to build our library and our community.”

Both Bartel and Delorit expressed frustration with the process.

“The town is the only one who has done anything on this,” Bartel said, adding he’s frustrated that the Town Board is being blamed for the situation. “Saying the town has dragged its feet is just a lie. We have made every effort to keep this together. Let’s get an agreement that is good for everybody.”

Delorit said at the meeting he questions how serious the town is about the agreement, adding, “I would hope they’re going to come through on June 11.”