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Rutland asks for public input on moving the library and City Hall to Merchants Row

The main part of the Rutland Free Library was built before the Civil War as a courthouse and post office. "There's no denying it's a beautiful building," says Library Director Randal Smathers. "But there's also no denying it's a really expensive building to heat, to clean, to maintain and to renovate."
Nina Keck
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Vermont Public
The main part of the Rutland Free Library was built before the Civil War as a courthouse and post office. "There's no denying it's a beautiful building," says Library Director Randal Smathers. "But there's also no denying it's a really expensive building to heat, to clean, to maintain and to renovate."

Rutland’s historic public library and City Hall both need lots of repairs.

"The facade of City Hall is in trouble," said Rutland Mayor Michael Doenges. "Our physical walls are cracking internally; floors aren't level. There's a very long list of things that have been Band-Aided and given just basic repairs over the years," he explained.

Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges says the historic City Hall has a long list of things that need repairing.
Nina Keck
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Vermont Public
Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges says the historic City Hall has a long list of things that need repairing.

The renovations needed at the Rutland Free Library are even more extensive, and Library Director Randal Smathers estimates they could cost in the $10 million range.

It’s why city officials are seeking public input on what could be a much less costly option than historic renovation — moving both facilities to a newer building downtown and creating a joint civic center.

The red brick Rutland Free Library originally served as a post office and courthouse. There are even jail cells in the basement.

Smathers said there have been several additions to the historic building over the decades. But the oldest section predates the Civil War, and on a recent tour, he pointed out how much of it is falling apart.

A dusty floor is littered with paint chips and old portraits.
Nina Keck
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Vermont Public
"There's a lot of space in the upper floors of the library that can't be used for anything other than storage," says Rutland Free Library Director Randal Smathers. He walks down a cold, dusty hallway filled old portraits and peeling paint. Many of the walls have moisture damage.

A hard-to-reach hallway that's used only by staff is freezing and poorly lit.

“There's a lot of peeling paint," said Smathers, nodding at the walls. "Given the age of this part of the building, we have to assume that it is lead. We don't know for a fact as we are in the middle of doing hazmat testing.”

The steep staircase we climb curves up several flights and has an alarmingly low hand railing.

A man in a plaid shirt stands on a steep, old fashioned staircase.
Nina Keck
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Vermont Public
Rutland Free Library Director Randal Smathers walks up a back stairway his staff uses to get to storage areas on upper floors. Many of the windows date back to 1858 and he says several are failing. This particular part of the building was freezing cold, and the paint on the walls was peeling.

Smathers explains that the building doesn’t meet accessibility standards because the last addition was put on before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

There’s water damage, inadequate bathrooms and way too much space that’s only suitable for storage, he went on. "In our current location, we have about 19,000 square feet of usable space, but we heat and cool 26,000 square feet." Pointing to a decrepit thermostat, he explained that "the only way we can control the heat is by turning it on and off. It's incredibly inefficient.”

The children's area, which was added in the late 1980s, has radiators along the walls, which means the library can't put books down at the kids' level. And the restroom in the children's wing isn't large enough for a diaper changing station.

"To make it into a good 21st century library, we would have to knock down everything that was built after 1858, and start over," said Smathers shaking his head. "There's absolutely nothing that conforms to what a good modern library is.”

Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges said that when heard that the price tag to renovate the library would be around $10 million, "I kind of had alarm bells going off."

"We have a lot of debt service now," he said. "Adding more to that, to an already high property tax bill could be a major issue."

The Asa Bloomer building in Rutland currently houses state office buildings and will continue to. Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges says state officials have told him they would like to better utilize underused space in the building. Doenges thinks that might make it a good fit for a new civic center that would house the city's library and city hall. City officials are now seeking public input on the idea.
Nina Keck
/
Vermont Public
The Asa Bloomer building in Rutland currently houses state office buildings and will continue to. Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges says state officials have told him they would like to better utilize underused space in the building. Doenges thinks that might make it a good fit for a new civic center that would house the city's library and City Hall. City officials are now seeking public input on the idea.

Doenges said he recalled a conversations he’d had with state officials about making better use of the more modern Asa Bloomer state office building on Merchant’s Row in Rutland. “The state still wants to keep state offices there, which is great, and the people who work there now would keep working there. But in those conversations," Doenges went on, "recognizing that there's a good amount of unutilized space, and a move to space like that could be a far lower expense, it was something that I thought we should consider; start to consider together.”

Doenges estimated it would cost about $1 million to move City Hall to the Asa Bloomer building and create new office and vault space there.

Smathers estimated the cost of creating new library space there would be around $4.5 million.

“From a cost savings standpoint, this is definitely something we need to explore,” said the mayor.

But he stressed that the idea of a new joint civic center is still in its early stages and he plans to meet this week with Vermont’s commissioner and deputy commissioner of state buildings and general services to assess their interest.

Doenges said legislative approval would also be needed for the city to purchase the state-owned office building at an affordable below-market rate.

City officials also want to hear what the public thinks since previous proposed library moves have been controversial, and people have strong emotional ties to their library.

As to what would happen to the existing library and City Hall buildings if the move went through, Doenges said they're open to ideas and would love to see a private developer turn them into housing. "Keep those building facades, you know, let them live in their historic glory and at the same time have them used for a new purpose that benefits the community and puts them on the tax rolls," added Doenges.

Rutland resident David Balfour was working on a book at the library and said he uses the quiet space three to five times a week. "I certainly support the idea that the library needs to move to a new location. I like this library," he said. "But it's too small and, even worse, too outdated for a modern library and the city needs newer more up to date facilities."

Three public forums will be held at the Rutland Free library: Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 22 at noon and Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m.

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