by Michael Howell
There was a healthy turnout for the open house held at the North Valley Public Library (NVPL) in Stevensville last Thursday, despite the significant deterrence presented by the valley’s first winter snowstorm. All those who managed to brave the weather got an great opportunity not only to preview the library’s potential future but to dabble in it, creating their own layout of the proposed building, amphitheater, and surrounding landscape features on two different properties that have been identified as sites for potential development, one on municipally owned property at Lewis and Clark Park and the other on Park Street on property owned by the Stevensville School District.
The North Valley Library District covers a large area that encompasses the Stevensville and Lone Rock school districts and in 2020 had an estimated population of 11,822. It’s also fast growing, having increased by about 16% from the 2010 estimate of 10,195. The library is also well liked and well used. According to the 2023 annual report, a total of 35,287 people walked through the door in 2022 and 3,722 people have a library card. Its book and e-material collection is extensive, containing 93,648 items contributing to a total of 73,644 checkouts. Their computers are also well used by the public with 5,734 uses logged last year. WiFi sessions totaled 896. 224 special programs were hosted at the library last year attended by 3,343 people. As part of the inter-library loan program, NVPL library lent 13,640 items to other libraries and brought in 17,517 items upon patron request.
Problems with the existing building which is located on Main Street in Stevensville are significant and extensive. They include uneven floors and old carpeting which pose tripping hazards. The exit out of the current Montana Room requires a 17-inch step up to ground level. The stacks are not conducive to people in wheelchairs and many elderly or disabled people will no longer enter the building due to safety concerns. Other major concerns of the building and location are the overall lack of parking available for patrons and the staff, structural instability, unusable attic space, a negatively sloping grade that brings water toward the building causing undermining and rot, and general lack of space and acoustic separation.
But one of the most serious problems, the existence of asbestos and lead-based paint, comes with a silver lining. It makes the building qualify as a “brownfield site,” that is “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” And this means it qualifies for participation in Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Brownfields Program which works with community groups to address Hazardous Substance and Petroleum Brownfields sites across Montana. The program provides both technical and financial expertise on the assessment and cleanup of Brownfields properties. DEQ’s Brownfields Program also provides grant writing assistance, outreach, and workshops for communities interested in Brownfields.
According to NVPL Board President Dianne Snedigar, after working with DEQ’s Brownfields coordinator Colleen Owens on a brownfields assessment and mitigation plan, Owen’s was able to help the library’s efforts at relocating shift into high gear.
“We had three or four Zoom meetings, she grabbed a bunch of information and then helped open the door for us to the Kansas State University’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) program, which opened the door to Adaapta,” said Snedigar. Adaapta, a Denver based consulting firm, is a woman-owned small business whose mission is “to educate, empower, and equip communities to successfully redevelop their underutilized and contaminated properties.” They are one out of 35 partners in 21 states working in the TAB program. TAB is funded by the EPA and the help comes at no charge to the local community. Snedigar said Owens had handed the library a “golden ticket” to some incredible help in the library’s efforts to relocate.
Adaapta planner Kate Lucas was on hand to help facilitate the library’s open house. Lucas said her company’s services extend beyond identifying brownfield sites for clean-up or redevelopment. They help communities in holding meetings like the one held last Thursday, they do market studies and do economic feasibility analysis, as well as developing architectural and landscape designs. They also help in identifying additional funding opportunities.
Lucas said that the library has done a great job developing a vision over the last two years. They began developing a facility plan in early 2021. Thinking that they might be able to remodel the existing building, they hired MMW Architects and library consultant ReThinking Libraries to assess the current conditions and develop a master plan. In collaboration with the library’s staff, director, Board and Foundation members, they conducted extensive public outreach including community meetings and public surveys. And in the end, due to the age, size, and site constraints of the current building, it was decided that a remodel or addition would not be a viable option.
According to MMW’s Principal Architect Jacob Wright, the current proposal for the new library outlined in the Preliminary Architectural Report and resulting Master Plan produced in August 2023 aims to enhance the programmatic spaces for children and teens, making them larger, and more technologically advanced. And giving them better acoustic separation from the quieter spaces of the library so that they feel free to be themselves. Other focus areas are the large multi-purpose meeting space and makers spaces, providing more flexibility and program offerings that are STEM-focused and relevant to today’s job markets. The quieter spaces of the library will provide adult patrons with the opportunity to read, study, conduct interviews and have more privacy during their visit.
“The new library building is designed to be fully accessible and built to current building code and energy compliance coupled with featuring a floor plan that aligns with the growing trends and technology seen in other libraries across the country while embodying the aesthetics of the beloved Bitterroot Valley,” states Wright.
The Master Plan they developed focused on the formulation of an entirely new building at some undetermined site and, because of this, the Preliminary Architectural Report was broad in nature with cost estimates reflecting a variety of circumstances that may arise depending on the site that is ultimately chosen.
Rough estimates for the cost of building construction range from $6,478,238 to $8,156,663. Add to this the cost of furniture, fixtures and equipment, professional fees, permitting, etc. and the total cost for the whole project ranges from $7,947,691 to $10,086,729. If the site on Town property at Lewis and Clark Park is chosen, it would reduce these costs by something close to $500,000 by removing the necessity to develop a public well, septic drainage, fire suppression holding tank and fire pump that would be required on the property currently owned by the school. Since the project may not start for a number of years from now, at an 8% per year inflation rate the final cost for the whole project could range from $10,011,801 to $12,706,373 in 2026.
With a Master Plan in hand, last week’s open house had a station where members of the public could review the analysis of existing conditions and the needs for a new library, review existing community feedback and then move on to examine the two properties that have been identified as potential building sites.
Some pros and cons were identified for each site. The proposed Lewis and Clark site is larger with 2.2 acres for open space and other amenities, for instance, while the school site has only an acre. The larger site could be more expensive to keep up. But the large site at the park is also adjacent to the rest of the park, which contains a swimming pool, splash park, skateboard park and children’s play area. However, the school site being close to the Stevensville public schools might encourage students to use the library. The cost of providing water, including emergency fire suppression, and sewer services to the school site is significant compared to the Lewis and Clark site which is already connected to municipal services. The cost of purchasing the school site property from the school district would be an additional expense.
At the next station the public had the chance to participate in designing the layout of the building along with an amphitheater and surrounding landscape features on the two different properties as well as sharing their own opinions and comments on the whole project.
“One thing to stress,” said Library Board President Dianne Snedigar, “this will take time. This is not going to happen overnight. It’s a long process and we want to do it right. We want input from the community, and this is just one of many meetings to come.”
Anyone with questions or concerns should contact NVPL Board of Trustees Chair Dianne Snedigar at diannes@farmersebank.com, Maggie Belanger at maggiejessie@ksu.edu, or Kate Lucas at kate@adaapta.com.