Library toured by ad hoc building committee
Mold and water damage, a leaking roof, cracks in the foundation and other physical issues with the Shawano County Library were discussed as the county’s ad hoc building committee gathered there Sept. 25.
“We started in the conference room in the northeast corner of the building,” said Grant Bystol, Shawano County highway commissioner and a member of the committee. “We removed all the interior insulation, drywall, tongue and groove paneling, and then we injected the cracks with a waterproofing urethane and poly sealer from the inside. That was still in winter.”
Spring months brought forth more work.
“We came on the north side exterior fix,” he said. “We excavated full length to include the removal of all the shrubs, landscaping stone and the old concrete sidewalk that was separated from the building and actually tipped the wrong way … so all the water was running toward the foundation.”
Highway crews installed drain tiles along the edge of the sidewalk, connected the existing storm sewer, cleaned the catch basin and sealed foundation cracks with a rubberized membrane.
The county spent about $100,000 on the foundation and exterior work.
Jim Davel, administrative coordinator, said plans to replace the failing roof with an $81,000 steel roof faltered at the Executive Committee level when one-time federal funds were already allocated.
The library was built in 1965. It was jointly operated by the city of Shawano and Shawano County until 2018 when the county took over 100% of the operation.
A 2022 facilities needs study indicated the library needed about $13 million in renovations to meet current standards, while a new library would cost $15 million, possibly on a shared campus with county government offices.
Coming up yet this fall, the committee will tour government centers in Waushara and Green Lake counties.
Waushara County held a grand opening for its new government center in June. The center combined all of the county’s general government, courts, court-related departments, human services and the public health department into one 135,000-square-foot, two-story free-standing building connected to the existing county jail.
The government center was the first of four county building projects totaling $89.1 million. The master plan also includes a new highway shop, multiple EMS buildings and a senior dining center.
Green Lake County built its government center 15 years ago. Today, the 158,000-square-foot facility houses all 30 county government departments. It also includes a 100-bed jail for Huber, medium and maximum security inmates.
“They did a hell of a job with their old facility,” Davel said.
The old courthouse now is home to a bar, hair salon, a haunted house and more.
“The community got involved with that,” he said. “The community really took that over. The county backed out of it completely, and the businesses came in.”
Kurt Berner of the Samuels Group is the facilitator for the committee and said tax impact will be part of future discussions.
“The reuse of these facilities … you have to ask yourself, ‘If I’m going to make a recommendation that we do something different than this, what are we going to recommend we do with this building?’” he said. “That becomes a very large hurdle for the message to the community, because it is a building that is owned by the taxpayers, and having (it) sit vacant is not a popular decision.”
Next up for the committee will be a tour of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department and jail on Oct. 23.