Vote to expand tax district is key to plan for replacing jam-packed Millstadt library
Nichole Lauko never complains about her desk being in a closet with a utility sink, vacuum cleaner and shelves full of office and cleaning supplies.
The Millstadt Library director is too busy trying to drum up support for construction of a new library building. For the first time in decades, it seems like a potentially reachable goal due to a state grant that would pay nearly a third of the $4 million cost, she said.
Key to the effort are two questions on next year’s primary ballot that will ask area voters to expand the library district, leading to a property tax increase for those who live within Millstadt Community Consolidated School District 160 but outside the village of Millstadt and Smithton and Belleville library districts.
“There’s just such a clear need for it,” said library board member Norm Sanders, 59, of Millstadt. “We’re not building a Taj Mahal. We just want a modern, state-of-the-art facility to serve the community.”
The library has been sharing an octagon-shaped building with Millstadt Village Hall since 1969, and until August it was a village department instead of an independent public library district. Its collections, programs and services have grown, but not its 1,500-square-foot space.
The circulation desk is about the size of a large elevator. Books and other items are stashed anywhere and everywhere.
“I love the space, the history (of the building), the brick and the wood,” said Lauko, 27, of Millstadt. “It’s like a time capsule. But there’s not enough room. We’re just so crammed in.”
$1.2 million grant
Millstadt Library staff applied last April for a Public Library Construction Act Grant from the Illinois State Library, which is part of the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. They pitched their project as a way to meet needs created by population growth and an aging facility.
Eight other libraries applied for the grant in the same category, according to Mark Shaffer, grant program specialist. Their circumstances were examined using a point system that ultimately verified Millstadt’s challenges.
“When we applied the ranking criteria and the rules to the nine libraries, (Millstadt and another library) ranked the highest,” Shaffer said.
The top four were deemed eligible for grants before appropriated funds ran out.
Millstadt will receive $1.2 million in grant money for construction of a new building, but only if it can come up with $2.6 million in matching funds by June 30, 2022, either by raising money or taking out a loan.
Shaffer said this week he hasn’t visited the Millstadt library personally, but photos and measurements indicate a space shortage.
“It’s only 1,500 square feet, and when you think about that, that’s the size of a small home — for a library,” he said. “And they’re proposing to build a 9,800 square feet (structure). And they’re proposing to build it right next to a grade school, so location-wise, it would be ideal.”
Shelves on wheels
Millstadt Civic Club founded Millstadt Library on the St. James Catholic School campus in 1964, five years before it moved into the municipal building.
Today, the library has about 10,000 books, CDs, DVDs, archive and reference materials, magazines and six computers for public use. It also orders books through the Illinois Heartland Library System.
Lauko said staff members are constantly having to “weed out” books to make room for new arrivals. They use metal shelving units on wheels that can be rolled out of the way to make room for summer reading programs and other group activities. Only about 10 children can fit.
One of the library’s biggest fans is Christine Branum, who stops in once a week with her daughter, Cate, 7, and son, Conner, 10.
“My kids love to read, and they go through books way too fast for me to buy them,” Branum said. “It’s incredible the amount of money we’ve saved by checking out books.”
Cate is hooked on the “My Weird School” series and National Geographic Kids magazine. Conner is interested in Greek mythology, including tales narrated by the character Percy Jackson.
Branum, 38, of Millstadt, sees a new library building as a way to increase opportunities for children in and around the village.
“I think if they could get a bigger library, they could get bigger crowds for their activities, and they would be able to host more,” she said.
Preliminary plans
The Millstadt Library board started talking in the late 1980s about the need to construct an addition or new building to accommodate future growth. The construction didn’t happen, but the growth did.
The village of Millstadt’s population has gone from 2,168 people in 1970 to 4,071 people in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Millstadt is more spread out than it seems,” Sanders said. “There are subdivisions on almost every edge of town. (The library isn’t) just serving the town. We’re serving the surrounding area, too.”
In 2017, the library board bought three acres of land along Illinois 163, across from Liederkranz Park, near Millstadt Primary Center.
In August, St. Clair County, village and library officials approved formation of a separate Millstadt Library District while keeping the same property tax rate (.15% of assessed valuation).
“We told the village we weren’t going to raise taxes,” Lauko said.
The library board has hired a consultant and architect to design the proposed new building and contracted with Poettker Construction in Breese. Preliminary artist renderings show a 9,800-square-foot, masonry and glass structure with space for community meetings.
In recent months, local residents have been raising money for a library construction fund, holding bake sales, painting parties and silent auctions. So far, they’ve raised about $10,000, Lauko said.
Everyone seems to agree that donations would have to be combined with a construction loan for the new building to become a reality.
June election
Millstadt Library District includes only property in the village of Millstadt. Board members want to significantly expand it to include most of Millstadt Community Consolidated School District 160. They say a larger tax base would help them obtain and pay off a 20-year construction loan.
Next year’s primary election will be held on June 28. Voters in the current library district will be asked to allow residents of the surrounding area to join it, and voters in the surrounding area will be asked to join.
If both ballot measures pass, residents of the surrounding area would begin paying .15% of assessed valuation in property taxes to the district.
“Someone who owns a $200,000 house would pay $95 a year or $8 a month,” Lauko said.
Earlier this year, the Illinois General Assembly postponed the 2022 primary election from March 15 to June 28 because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed receipt of census figures used in redistricting.
This complicates things for Millstadt Library District. Public Library Construction Act Grants require recipients to prove that they have matching funds — whether saved, raised or borrowed — “in the bank” by June 30, 2022, according to Shaffer, the grant program specialist.
That’s two days after the election, making it unlikely that the Millstadt library board could have all its financing in place for a new building. The board is asking for an extension.
“It’s something that we are well aware of,” Shaffer said. “... We’re looking at all the options. We just haven’t finished that or come to a decision or come to a policy on how we’re going to handle that.
“We have to be careful because the rules are set forth in the administrative code, and we just don’t know how much leeway we have to be able to adjust, given the fact that the legislature changed the date on the election.”
If all the pieces fall into place, the Millstadt library board would like to break ground on a new building next fall and complete it by summer 2023.
Sanders, like Lauko, plans to spend the next six months trying to convince Millstadt-area residents that a larger, better-equipped library would enhance their quality of life.
“When you live in a community, you want it to have the best resources available for everyone,” he said. “... A library isn’t just a place for checking out books. It’s offering meaningful, educational and fun activities that children and their parents can participate in.”
