A Madison garden group is asking the city to reconsider plans for a community garden and green roof to become part of the design budget of the new Madison Central Public Library.
Members of Madison’s Downtown Community Gardens Group are asking for the change after finding the proposal could be implemented for less than half of the previously anticipated cost.
At last week’s City Council meeting, the council voted to adopt a city study to conclude the feasibility of inputting a rooftop community garden on the soon-to-be renovated library.
The study showed the rooftop garden would not be feasible, projecting the cost to be $775,344 – a price tag planners said would be too harsh on the project’s $29.5 million budget.
Still, members of Madison’s Downtown Community Gardens Group are refuting the estimate, arguing the addition could be put in place for under $300,000.
DCG member Kevin Schiesser said the price discrepancy could be accounted for in things such as the elevator the City Council included in its report, the different figures of the tool sheds and the redundancy of having both a windbreak and a guardrail. He said the council seemed to overestimate costs of most materials.
A report submitted by the DCG in response to the study said the Reynolds Community Garden on the 600 block of East Mifflin has a two-year waiting list. It also said that when the group polled community members, the proposal that garnered the most enthusiasm was the option for a library rooftop garden location.
“People like gardens, especially community gardens,” said DCG member Jane Anne Morris. “It acts as a community center where people share information and talk about things, and they’re not just gardening related.”
Morris said the DCG is specifically pushing for an “intensive” garden, which would include edible vegetation. Still, she said the likely outcome is that City Council would opt for an “extensive” garden with inedible plants and shallower soil, which would cut some of its projected costs.
“If it came down to settling for an extensive garden, we could never be against it,” Morris said. “We’re in favor of all kinds of community gardens, and we’ve certainly begun to raise the bar in terms of discussion about them.”
