Moline library gets boost

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By David Heitz | Wednesday, March 29, 2006 12:21 AM CST | () comments

The Moline City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to give preliminary approval to borrowing almost $1.5 million from the city’s capital improvement fund to make sure its new library opens on schedule in September.

Alderman Bill Adams, 5th Ward, and Alderman Dorothy Armstrong, 7th Ward, were absent. The council needs to vote on the issue again next Tuesday for the loan to become official. It would be repaid at 3.5 percent interest over five years.

Moline plans to open a 68,000-square-foot, $13.2 million library at 3130 41st St. OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, designed the building, which will boast greatly expanded space for collections, programming and studying. State-of-the-art communications, including wireless access and cabling technology, will get Web surfers up and running. Trained staff will assist those new to the Internet.

Up-to-date service desks will offer enhanced customer convenience and allow staffers to operate the library more efficiently. Expanded community rooms will provide meeting space for the public.

The city issued $10 million in bonds for the project and pledged $681,000 from reserves and interest income. Another $2.5 million is expected to come from private donations, but so far only $1.3 million has been promised. Of that, only $578,489 is on hand because some of the pledges are multi-year commitments.

That has created a cash-flow problem, which precipitated the need for the gap funding approved Tuesday. Alderman Mike Crotty, 6th Ward, wants library staffers to come up with a contingency plan in case another $1.2 million in pledges cannot be raised.

“Where are you going to get that shortfall?” Crotty asked Moline Library Board President Karl Huntoon. “Are we just going to have to throw it into the black hole if you can’t come up with it?”

Huntoon said the board continues to seek pledges. “Calls are being made. We are still working on large donors and we will soon broaden that appeal to the general public.

“We’d like to be able to order furnishings and equipment. It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge we believe we’re up to.”

Also Tuesday, the council gave preliminary approval to creating a $25 business license for retailers in the city. The council still needs to vote on the issue April 4 for the fee to become law. The license would allow the city to create a comprehensive list of businesses and ensure that all requirements of the municipal code are met prior to operation.

Terry Bingham, the owner of Teske Pet and Garden Center, scoffed at the proposed fee.

“You can call it a fee or you can call it a tax, but it’s a tax,” he said. “All this is going to do is complicate doing business in Moline.”

The city desk can be contacted at

(563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.