Plans for New Waunakee Library Stall

Waunakee Public Library: the current facility

Link to February 10 Waunakee News article, "Village may seek proposals for downtown sans library".

Excerpt: Although a library is not in the cards for now, the Waunakee Village Board may seek other development proposals for the E. Main and N. Madison Street site.

Waunakee’s Economic Development Commission Monday offered their suggestions for how a request for proposals (RFP) should be crafted and recommended that the village board move forward – even without a library plan.

“We [village trustees] asked staff to develop an RFP without a library, hoping that something good would happen,” said John Laubmeier, village board president and commissioner.

Although at its previous meeting, economic development commissioners had recommended that the board move forward with a library plan at that site and forego a referendum, village board members declined to.

Laubmeier cited many reasons. In the end, many board members said they could never move ahead on a library plan without a referendum, he said. Laubmeier added that the cost for a library would force the village to exceed its self-imposed borrowing cap.