District Library Building Committee looking for corporate finances

The building committee of the Belleville Area District Library Board is looking at ways to get large corporations to donate to its library building fund.
Following the 3 to 1 voter rejection of millage to fund a 45,000 square foot library on DNR property on Belleville Lake, the library board had to work at replacing its retiring director.
When that was done, the board decided it was time to move forward with plans to upgrade the present library or build a new one.
John Juriga, a member of the committee, said the seed of the idea to get corporate help was planted a year ago at a family reunion in New York. He said his niece said she knew he was interested in libraries and told him their university just got a library funded by a corporation.
Juriga said he told his niece Belleville would need a lot, $10-12 million, and she replied her university got $52 million. He said he knows that was an academic project, but still it wouldn’t hurt to try for Belleville.
If they could get money to build all of or some of a new library to bring the cost down for taxpayers, then they could pass a millage to run it.
That’s when he decided to call for a meeting of the library board’s building committee and invite Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous and State Representative Kristy Pagan to seek their help on funding.
The building committee met July 15 and Rep. Pagan attended, but Commissioner Haidous didn’t show up.
Rep. Pagan listened to Joy Cichewicz’s report on the survey that showed people didn’t want the big library on the lake but did want better parking, more technology, and no café. They also wanted the existing facility renovated and expanded downtown.
Cichewicz said those who filled out surveys nixed the green energy and that made her sad.
Pagan said she would look into what funds were available.
Juriga was under the impression that lobbyists had lots of money to give away, but Pagan said lobbyists didn’t have much to disburse and mainly it was small amounts to support community groups.
The district library board at its July 14 meeting also discussed where they should be heading next as far as improving the library facility.
Points brought up at the two meetings included:
• Juriga: They could buy the Baptist Church or keep the present library for children and buy buildings next door and build a two-story, 10,000 square foot building;
• Cichewicz: Keeping the library downtown means a smaller building, but even that requires moving water lines, electricity, closing roads … In my mind, and I think in the minds of most of the members of the board, we would like to keep it downtown;
• Cichewicz, in response to Pagan’s question of how much would it cost? : It was $19 million for the building in the last proposal, but that included $1 million for the Sumpter branch. We are not talking about the branch now. The $19 million also included the DNR property, the house next door, and building a larger building;
• Juriga: $10-13 million is a guess; and
• Cichewicz: If Rep. Pagan helps us, we could have a Pagan Wing.
Board members said they would be seeking out corporations who would donate money, especially those who have locations in the tri-community.