Director Linda Chappell
One week after the county board proclaimed that any requests to reallocate leftover funds from the Grand Marais Public Library expansion project should come in the form of a formal request from the library board, Library Director Linda Chappell and Library Board President David Quick appeared before the commissioners at their November 22, 2011 meeting with a formal request in hand.
A memo to the commissioners stated, “…The Library Board requests that funds remaining in various line items of our project budget be reallocated to cover needs in different line items. Library For example, [consultant and project manager] ORB budgeted $85,000 for relocation expenses, of which we will only spend approximately $20,000. Our furniture and fixture line item was estimated at $50,000, but we need a much larger amount to furnish the building.”
The current estimate for furniture and other equipment is $95,885, and that does not include landscaping that will be needed next summer. Some of the items, such as the builtin reference and circulation desk areas ($28,000), have already been purchased, and Chappell told the board that they have been able to purchase some items at sale prices.
The cost estimate states, “Actual purchases will be made on the basis of furniture that is sturdy, nicelooking, functional, durable, and reasonably priced. Vendors will be Minnesota contract vendors unless a lower price can be obtained elsewhere.”
Some of the old furniture will remain in circulation. “We’re reusing what we can,” Chappell said. “On the other hand, some of it is 25 years old. It’s served its day and it doesn’t match the new building.” The library board wants the furnishings to be nice for the community, she said, exclaiming, “The rest of the building has turned out just beautiful.”
“All we’re asking now is to shift line items,” Chappell told commissioners. She said the library board had expected moving expenses to be lower than the $85,000 projected by ORB and explained that the $20,000 spent on moving expenses included paying rent for temporary quarters in the Cook County Schools complex and purchasing a portable book drop. Commissioner Jan Hall said she didn’t think they should have budgeted $85,000 for moving expenses if they knew they wouldn’t need that much.
Commissioner Hall asked what they would have done for furnishings if the building had cost as much as the $1.4 million the county allocated from its 1 Percent Recreation and Infrastructure Sales Tax revenue. Chappell said that some of the budget projections had been low and some had been high.
Less than $3,000 is left in the contingency fund, which had been $55,000, Chappell said. Much of that was used on roofing.
They have enough furniture to open on December 5, Chappell said, and they want to see how people use the space before making final decisions on new furniture.
Of the $1.4 million allocated for the library, $123,000 remained unspent. The board passed a motion authorizing furniture, fixture, and equipment (FF&E) purchases up to $95,885 to be paid out of the $50,000 set aside for it in the budget, $9,250 the library had previously set aside from its own funds for new carpeting, and what was left over from the amount allocated for moving expenses.
Chappell said the library board is excited to be the first 1 percent “test case” and to show the community what a fine project was completed through this tax funding. The memo from the library board states, “The library board is very excited to have this wonderful new community facility almost ready for the public to use and enjoy.”
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