Jasper Library decides to pursue the Hoosier Desk site for the future of the library

I have to confess, sometimes when I sit in public meetings, I place little bets with myself or some of my news colleagues on how the votes will fall.

No money exchanges hands; we just make it known how we think a vote on a certain issue will go. The winner has to pick the correct spread.

I would have lost Monday night’s vote taken by the Jasper Public Library Board of Trustees on the future location of the library.

I called Hoosier Desk, but I was off on how close the vote would be.

At the beginning of the evening, when a quick text to a contact with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation by Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz verified an additional $216,000 could be subtracted from the purchase price of the Hoosier Desk site, I called the vote 5 to 2 for it.

This was bolstered by the four citizens who commented at the beginning of the meeting in a show of support for the Hoosier Desk site.

I figured Board member Carol Hodell would not go with the site. She has expressed a lot of misgivings about that location based on the size, the cost of the overall project, the uncertainty of ownership and the proposed partnership with the Jasper Community Arts Commission as well as the potential cleanup costs.

I was pretty sure board member Bill Hewitt, who formed a political action committee against the South Newton site in 2011, would never vote for anything but the Main Street location. He likes the location and the history of the site.

I thought that the rest of the board would go with the Desk site with board member Mark Kunkel being a wildcard. He had been pragmatic in examining the building’s issues, but I thought since they would likely be demolishing the building and with the tax credit, he would go with it based on the location.

Then, when board president Dean Vonderheide allowed each board member to voice their opinion, what has usually been a mundane and sleepy-eyed meeting (I have personally attended nearly every public discussion about the library’s building decision) became very interesting.

Vonderheide went first  by voicing his opinion that he thought the Hoosier Desk site was the way to go.

Hodell followed saying she would vote for the Main Street location. “I have heard from the public. I have talked with people who have actually used the library on a regular basis,” she said. “I have contemplated the pros and cons of each site. While I too love the idea of a cultural center for our little city, I still have many questions as to what will be found when demolition begins. My past experience working in the legal field and in retail development has caused me to be very cautious about the environmental issues that may be involved which could be very costly with this site.”

She stated that since there were no guarantees with the collaborative effort involving the City of Jasper and the Jasper Community Arts Commission, she was concerned with undertaking the project. She also felt the board would have trouble getting taxpayers to pay for the project at Hoosier Desk.

Then, board member Lisa Kincer made a short statement supporting the Hoosier Desk site. “I feel that the library is very important to the community,” she said. “I use the library all the time.”

She explained that she had heard comments and concerns about what they might find at the Hoosier Desk site but “since we are going to demolish it and build new, I feel that pushes those concerns to the wayside,” she said. “I feel that if we go there, it really opens up a lot of opportunities.”

The vote was going pretty much as expected at this point.

Mark Kunkel began by pointing out that both sites have advantages and disadvantages. “When we first started talking about Hoosier, it was repurposing an old building. Now that we got into it, we aren’t repurposing the building; we are repurposing the site,” Kunkel said. “This site here [current location] is better; it is residential-friendly. Down there [Hoosier Desk] is not quite as cozy so to speak as this will be.”

He stated that the proximity of commercial buildings, as well as the railroad, didn’t have the right atmosphere for the library. “I think the people should have a chance to vote on this [current site], so my vote will be for this site,” he said before saying he would go with the Main Street location.

Okay, there was the second vote against it. I wasn’t going to win any imaginary bets tonight, but I felt it would pass with a 4 to 3 vote.

Then Deb Stemle started off by saying she was enthused by the cooperation and amiable discussion this board had undertaken to make the decision. Stemle was part of the board that ended up split over the last referendum.

“But I don’t think a referendum will pass for either location,” she said. “My hesitation on the Hoosier Desk site is because there are no guarantees on the arts collaboration.”

She told the board that she had spoken to designers who had said a 30,000 square foot library on a single floor would be hard to manage compared to the two- or three-story proposed structures for the current location. “I am not sure either site will pass, and I am not sure we will come up with all the funding we think we will. So, for that reason, my vote is to stay here,” she said.

At this point, I changed the draft of my Facebook post to “Jasper Libary Board votes to pursue the Main Street location for the future expansion of the library.”

Then, in the most emphatic address of the evening, Pamela Catt pointed out what she saw as many positive attributes with the Hoosier Desk site. “Our best estimate of the cost of building new at Hoosier Desk is over $1 million less than building new at Main Street,” she said. “We have received written approval from the Indiana Industrial Tax Credit, which would provide over $1.5 million for the library project. Or $3.5 million to the project if the Arts Commission joins us. We get zero dollars at the Main Street site.”

She pointed out the Hoosier Desk site would give them 4.5 acres to build and expand if needed. The Main Street project would only give them an additional three-fourths of an acre for parking after purchasing several properties adjacent to the property. Plus, she pointed out, the current location is hard to expand for the future growth of the city.

“We have a chance at providing Jasper with a cultural center. This has multi-generational appeal to our citizens. The ability of the library will be greatly enhanced. It will be in full sight rather than tucked away in a corner,” she said. “Hoosier Desk has a natural flow of people from the Old Mill, the Train Depot, Farmers Market, Riverwalk and Buehler Plaza.”

“Committing a large amount of money to the Main Street location, which is largely nostalgia driven, is questionable,” she said. “Let’s put our funds where it will do the most for our community. In the heart of the recreational downtown area. Again and again I have been approached by people saying ‘let’s do it right.'”

After she stated she was going with Hoosier Desk, the majority of those attending the meeting — about 34 members of the public — broke into applause.

So the vote stood tied at three either way with Bill Hewitt as the deciding vote.

And he cracked a joke.

He started by saying he had been on the board for several years and when he had joined the library, he was told it would only be a two- or three-hour meeting each month and nothing more. “Let me tell you that I have found out it is more than one meeting a month,” he said. “And it is more than the two or three hours.”

Hewitt told everyone that he has always been a fan of the Main Street location. “BUT,” he said, “being a business person, it is very difficult to pass up a million dollar tax credit from the State of Indiana. The word vision or future or whatever it may be, when you sit here month after month after month and you talk about the library, you wish that the people that built the building across the street had the vision to expand it. I think that in 2065 if Jasper grows, it’s going to need to have a library that is bigger than the one across the street.”

He said he would back the board on either site, but he would vote for the Hoosier Desk site tonight.

At that, Pamela Catt, who was sitting next to Hewitt, reached over and gave him a hug.

“I know a lot of people are going to call me saying I have always been in favor of Main Street,” he said. “Now, we have to get the people behind this project.”

“Bill,” Vonderheide said, “it was only appropriate that you went last.”

The vote passed in favor of Hoosier Desk site 4 to 3 with Hodell, Kunkel and Stemle voting nay. The board must now decide what their plan is moving forward. The costs on the attached sheet list several options for the Hoosier Desk site. Once they know the city’s commitment in the project, they will be able to plan for the 2016 referendum.

According to Mayor Seitz, he expects the city council to discuss the site and the Jasper Community Arts Commission’s role in its future at their next council meeting on Wednesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 610 Main Street.[hr]

This file can be downloaded as a pdf here. Copy of Library Site Analysis update 9-11-15

These are the cost estimates used to assist in making the decision on which site to pursue.

We had reported that Hewitt had been on the board since 1987, but he actually stated he had lived in the area since 1987. The story has been changed to reflect the correction.