Leelanau Township board of trustees unanimously voted to approve a Leelanau Township Library RFP (request for proposal) resolution last week, and will participate in a potential facilities study this year to address the need for both better office facilities and adequate community spaces in the area.
According to the resolution, the Leelanau Township Library board has endorsed beginning a strategic planning process that includes a facilities study for all township elected governing bodies such as Leelanau Township, the Village of Northport, Northport Public School, and the township library itself. The study will ultimately help to identify potential sites for a new library as well as other township governmental bodies’ needs.
While the township board voted to participate, they did not make a commitment to contribute monetarily to the cost of the study, but will consider any monetary contribution based on the selection of the specific vendor and the final costs. The board will also appoint a representative to participate on an equal basis in the RFP process as well as have an equal vote with the other governing units in choosing the vendor. In addition, the township board will review and approve the final RFP before solicitation of potential vendors. The final RFP will request not just a survey of all governmental unit owned properties, but will include descriptions like current usage and physical condition of the property, potential future uses, and an assessment of zoning or other special use issues.
“The township strongly supports the library’s effort to better understand the physical assets that reside under the township, the village, and Northport school,” said Leelanau Township Supervisor Mike McMillan. “Such a study is long overdue in understanding underutilized assets as well as where we lack meaningful and productive assets to address workforce housing and a community center, to name just a few.”
Rick Gans, Leelanau Township Library board treasurer, said the board approved drafting an RFP for strategic planning in October 2023, which is when they realized that the planning would also involve looking at facilities across the township. At that time, Gans reached out to the township, village, and Northport school about meeting quarterly to discuss issues of mutual interest and cooperation. In November, Northport Board of Education President Ben Purdy, Northport Village Council President Chris McCann, and McMillan agreed to work together to find a person who could act as a grant writer for all governing bodies and on doing a comprehensive facilities study.
Gans said the RFP has been sent out for consideration to four companies and entities in the last two weeks, and that the library board is hoping to award a contract for the planning studies by April 1. Gans added that while they don’t have a definitive timeline, they anticipate that the strategic study, which would take at least six months, will provide estimated timelines.
In the library RFP background, it’s explained how vital the institution and its services have been in the community since the building it’s currently housed in was first completed in 1968. The library sees an average of over 20,000 visits by individuals and families each year. Last year, over 30,000 items were loaned, including books, videos, STEM backpacks, bicycles, internet hot spots, snow shoes, and even a telescope. Residents and visitors, including summer guests, utilize programs ranging from children’s story hours to book discussion groups, public readings, informational seminars, poetry workshops, and other learning opportunities. The RFP also explains that 2020 census data indicates that the township has 2,048 residents, however, the library has over 3,500 cardholders.
“The size and quality of the library facility is now inadequate in several ways. One of the most pressing problems is the lack of safe doorways into the building for those with mobility challenges; specifically, the building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),” the library RFP states, noting how these deficiencies have long been indicated in reports from over the last 20 years by township committees. “The library space also lacks a public restroom for its patrons. Furthermore, the space available for technology (i.e., public computer terminals, printers, personal computing devices) is not sufficient to serve the number of interested users. Most importantly, the physical library space (2,720 square feet) is inadequate to meet the community’s need for public programs, quiet spaces, and open shelving of materials for the public to browse, in addition to administrative space for library materials processing.”
“The community overwhelmingly supported the idea of an independent library board with its own dedicated millage almost two years ago…” Gans said. “We feel we have a mandate from the community to formally evaluate the community needs and present our findings to the community with different potential plans, including funding sources if necessary.”
Leelanau Township library board president Mark Morton said in terms of the facilities process, the library board will review the results of the strategic plan once it’s completed, and then consider hiring architects with library building experience to conduct a needs assessment. The architects will rely heavily on the strategic plan, Morton continued, to help determine what the community would like to see from their library in the future.
“Based on that, they will recommend the best type of facility to meet those needs,” Morton said. “... When the community voted overwhelmingly to give the library its own governance, and dedicated millage, much of the feedback at that time was for expanded library services. Come November, the board will transition from having been appointed by the township board of trustees to being elected by the voters. I’m sure that a vision for the future of the library will be a big question for candidates for the board, and may result in a type of mandate from the voters for expansion should those candidates that share that view be elected.”
