During last week’s meeting Woodstock Library trustees grappled with the choice of bonding for the full cost of a new 12,000-square-foot library or a hybrid approach combined with extensive fundraising.
Trustee and capital campaign committee chair Jeff Collins itemized costs totaling $6.628 million for the project. While the widely publicized figure for the new structure until this point was $4.4 million, that was just for the construction cost. Architecture fees bring the cost up to nearly $5 million, then other fees, financing costs, furnishings, rental for a temporary library, relocation costs and insurance among other items brings the true cost to $6.628 million.
At this point, some of those costs aren’t firm. Items like contingency, at ten percent of construction cost, or $440,000, are “educated guesses.” Collins said. Contingency is an amount added to construction costs to fund any unanticipated expenses.
Even the space for a temporary library at $54,000 for 18 months is “really just an estimate,” board president Dorothea Marcus said. “We may get space donated.” Since the library will be running on a limited basis in temporary space during construction, savings in operational expenses could be used to defray costs.
The board has already spent $226,082 on the project and another $150,000 in pledges will become available if a bond passes. Including possible grants of $200,000, the total needed is $6,051,918.
Collins proposed a hybrid option has one scenario with a $1 million fundraising campaign and a bond of just over $5 million.
When trustee Barry Miller asked whether later donations can be used to pay down the bond, Marcus explained a bond is akin to a home equity line of credit. You don’t have to use the full amount that was bonded. So if the board decides to bond $6.7 million but only uses $5 million, the payments will be based on the lower amount.
The change in cost may be a problem unless it’s explained. “What’s missing is reaching out to the public. They heard $4.4 million,” Miller said. “It has to be explained to them in very clear, simple language they can understand.”
Collins said an outreach campaign can only go so far. “I’d say 70 percent of the people are going to walk in to vote and see, Do I approve x million dollars? We can try as hard as we can and we’ll only reach 30 percent of the people,” Collins said. “I’m much more confident of raising $1 million than I am of getting a large bond passed. That’s why I’m in favor of the hybrid.”
Collins floated the idea of hiring a professional fundraiser to help with the task of getting $1 million in donations.
“It’s chancy,” responded trustee and fiscal officer Liz Rosen. “Professional fundraisers are sometimes successful and sometimes a waste of money.”
Trustees plan to consider the options and make a decision at their August 20 meeting, where they will also approve the 2021 operational budget to send to voters on October 1. A bond vote is planned for the November 3 election.
Join the family! 
