A city commission voted Monday to temporarily relocate Madison Central Library a number of blocks closer to campus to the formerAT&Tbuilding on West Washington Avenue during renovations of its current location.
The Board of Estimates voted unanimously to authorize a lease for the temporary location, scheduled to begin Sept. 1. All library materials will be moved to 316 W. Washington Ave. for the prospected 14 months of renovations starting in November.
Madison facilities manager Jeanne Hoffman updated the committee with a timeline for the project and details about finalized
renderings being available to the public.
“As for the timeline, 50 percent of the design development is completed, which is the last phase of design,” Hoffman said. “The drawings will be available April 7 and they are finalized up to this point.”
Hoffman said the team would release more specific information to the public regarding materials used in the project.
Designers working on the new Central Library have addressed concerns about the dilapidated sidewalk pavement in the front of the building by including new cement in the plan. The plan also features high ceilings to allow more natural light and green space in the architecture.
The Board of Estimates was also expected to hear a proposal by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz that would emphasize the lack of efficiency displayed through the city’s development process. Cieslewicz initialized a report on how to streamline the development process in Madison’s city government with a list of recommendations for certain departments to adopt.
The Board of Estimates referred the proposal in a unanimous vote, delaying consideration of the report until the committee’s April 11 meeting because of limited participation and input by other city offices.
Cieslewicz was not able to attend the meeting, and as he is the proposal’s head sponsor, the committee could not move forward.
The city’s economic development committee wrote the report to study the land-use approval process the city undergoes to give consent to developers’ projects.
Director of Economic Development Aaron Olver said the initiative is currently in draft form and must go through a number of parties before it can be finalized and approved by the City Council.
“Economic development is more important than ever, and the mayor is trying to make sure that we have a predictable and transparent process,” Olver said.
With an increase in new construction and investments in the city’s budget, Olver said more attention to input and improvement in communication among developers, city officials and the public are necessary steps to take.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the development process is in need of review, but said some recommendations may be seen as controversial.
“Developers are saying that the process is broken, but I’d say that I disagree with that assumption and that the process isn’t anywhere near as broken as the report portrays,” Verveer said.
Verveer said he predicts further delays to the mayor’s initiative, as upcoming elections will bring new members into the discussion who will need time to digest the contents of the report.
