As the big hand turns to noon today, Madison will be greeted with a fresh management team as Mayor-elect Paul Soglin officially takes office and a new City Council is cycled in.

While Soglin said he has been hard at work throughout the past two weeks to ensure a successful transition period, city officials said some of the concerns the mayor-elect has expressed about recent city developments could set the clock back and delay some projects by several years.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said Soglin wants to see a guarantee of the $8 million in private funding planned for the city’s Central Library renovation project before developers break ground – a move that could push back the project’s completion by three years.

Soglin has said he does not want to proceed with the previously agreed-upon terms for the city to front the money for the project and later be repaid by private fundraising dollars, Verveer said. Still, Verveer said this is a model that has worked well with other recent library projects.

The Sequoya branch and the South-side branch of the Madison Public Library System both recently raised significant amounts of money through the Madison Library Foundation to cover renovation costs.

Madison Library Foundation Executive Director Jenny Collins said if Soglin delays the plans for construction, the city would face greater issues because of immediate need for certain renovations.

“If Soglin says he has to have the pledges or cash for $8 million prior to doing construction, it will still take me two-and-a-half to three years to raise that $8 million,” Collins said. “What’s being overlooked here is the cost of delaying this project – there are things in the Central Library that absolutely have to be repaired or replaced to keep that branch open.”

Verveer said one rainy day or warm summer day could cause serious emergency damage to the library, calling for urgency in renovations. He said the roof and Sequoya HVAC system are both “on their last legs,” and the elevator is currently staffed by library personnel at all times because of the risk of it breaking or not stopping at the correct floor.

Collins said she hopes the group will be able to continue the project as planned – breaking ground at some point this upcoming fall – but said that timeline will not be realistic if Soglin changes the proposed timeline for fundraising.

In an interview with The Badger Herald, Soglin said he is in the process of setting up appointments to deal with some of the more immediate issues facing the city, including the development of the Central Library. He also said he will reexamine some of the concerns he has with the current status of the Overture Center.

City Council President Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, said Soglin had expressed some concerns about both projects, but said he hopes the mayor-elect will not take any actions that would drastically require the council to rework their decisions.

“I am waiting to see what his specific actions are on those, but as far as I am concerned, those projects should move forward,” Clear said. “It’s possible the mayor will come down on them and halt them – but these are things the council struggled with and then ultimately made a very clear decision on. The mayor has a responsibility to be informed about those projects, but I certainly hope they’re not issues the council has to significantly reconsider or rework.”