New lease on life for Ladd Library

CEDAR RAPIDS - Seventeen-year-old Jose Juarez sat in a Navy blue arm chair reading 'The Dog Who Saved Christmas,” alternating chapters with Yolanda Hernandez, 11, who sat in the next chair in the back of Ladd Library.

With school closed for the academic year, her mom urged her to attend a program called Lunch and Literacy, a summer series with free food and bilingual reading tutors through the Young Parents Network at the westside library, 3750 Williams Blvd SW.

'We're helping them learn to read better and how to pronounce words,” said Juarez, a Kennedy High School senior and volunteer.

As the Ladd Library approaches its five-year anniversary - and more critically the end of its initial lease - programs such as these help define a branch library location that has tailored a blend of programs, services and even books to meet the demands of its surroundings, which is one of the poorest, most ethically diverse and fastest growing parts of Cedar Rapids, officials said.

This day's program was geared to Latinos, and Ladd Library was an ideal location because of the nearby Latino population, said Monica Vallejo, Hispanic program specialist for the Young Parents Network.

'Some parents can't read and some don't have transportation to get downtown,” she said.

The upcoming end of Ladd's lease marks a decision point for library leaders after the gamble to launch a full-scale, second library on the westside thanks to an unexpected $750,000 estate donation from Marilyn Ladd, a lifelong city resident who died in 2011.

'It was a risky decision when we did it,” said Dara Schmidt, the Cedar Rapids Public Library director. 'Would people come? Would they use it? It's become a vital community hub.”

In Schmidt's mind, the library has been an unquestionable success. The Ladd Library has drawn 629,822 people and circulated 1.1 million items since Jan. 1, 2014. The library first opened in February 2013.

No doubt, the lease will be renewed, she said. The question facing the library board of trustees is whether to extend it for five or for 10 years.

When the lease was created, it included incremental five-year extension options with inflation based on regional market rates at the time of renewals through 2042.

The first lease for the library expires in December, but officials must provide the landlord, Mighty Mites Cedar Rapids, notice of intent by the end of June.

The library board has drafted a resolution to extend through the end of 2027, maintaining the $12,600 per month rate. That comes to about $1.5 million over 10 years.

The alternate option is a $13,966-a-month, five-year lease or $837,960 total, the contract shows.

By going 10 years, the library could save more than a full year's costs compared with the shorter term, Schmidt said.

'Given the investment we've made in the library and the success of the location, we want to keep the lease as short as possible to keep our options open but as long as possible to minimize costs,” said Matthew Wilding, the board's vice president, who recommended the 10-year option at a recent meeting.

While extending the lease to 10 years likely saves money in the long run, the added value triggers a public process that could generate scrutiny.

A special public hearing on the matter is scheduled for the library board meeting at noon Friday in Whipple Auditorium in the downtown Cedar Rapids library, 450 Fifth Ave SE. If the board proceeds with the longer lease, the final vote would come Aug. 3.

In Cedar Rapids, library spending has been a flash point with the community.

In 2015, voters rejected a call to max out the library's tax levy at 27 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value to offset increased expenses of having two locations.

Then, after getting negative feedback, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett backed off a 'trial balloon” of skipping a public vote with a more modest increase - raising the tax rate 3 cents a year for five years and earmarking the extra money for the library.

Cedar Rapids residents pay $40.61 a year per capita for the library, which is less than the $44.01 average for others in its size category, according to State Library of Iowa figures. Cedar Rapids residents check out an average 9.03 items and visit the library 5.19 times per year, which is slightly below the 9.61 and 5.32 averages, respectively, for the size category.

Des Moines, Davenport, Sioux City, and Clinton are others among Iowa cities with multiple library locations, said Nancy Medema, program director for the State Library of Iowa.

A lack of funding support has led to reduced hours, including cutting one day a week at each location, spending on the collection and staffing.

Westside residents didn't support the levy vote in 2015, leaving some to question whether they valued the Ladd Library. Others said a more likely explanation is that Ladd users didn't show up in force in the low-turnout election.

Schmidt said officials considered whether Ladd and its $800,000-a-year estimated budget should be on the table to cover a budget shortfall before the levy increase was proposed, but they quickly dismissed that idea.

Lisa Kuzela, a westside resident who opposed the levy increase, said she agrees the Ladd has been a win for the westside and the lease should be renewed. However, she remains critical of the city's financing.

For example, when a 4-cent library tax expired in 2015 and voters didn't support the 27-cent levy, city officials increased the police and fire retirement levy by 4 cents and increased the library budget through the general fund, according to city budget information.

She also points out the city pays for property tax on the Ladd Library site because the space is privately owned, whereas city property isn't taxed. According to the contract, the city pays $2.08 per square foot for insurance, taxes and common area, which amounts to $45,448 per year.

'We have a great need on the westside and there's no parking issues like you have downtown on the westside,” Kuzela said. 'I definitely want the Ladd Library to remain, but we should be owning the property. There wasn't any reason why with all the real estate going on we didn't purchase the property. We shouldn't be paying property taxes.”

Scrutiny comes even as usage and circulation numbers are among the highest in the state, which makes sense because Cedar Rapids is the state's second largest city. The library can also point to its recent award as one of 10 finalists for the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, 'in recognition of exceptional service to the community.”

In recent memory, Schmidt said, the library occupied a small, 2,000 square-foot storefront in Westdale Mall mainly for transactions where patrons could check out a book, pick up a hold from the main library or return books.

After the 2008 flood wiped out the downtown library, 16,000 square feet of space was cobbled together at Westdale to serve as the city's main library until the new main library opened across from Greene Square in 2013.

The time was influential in showing the demand on the westside, including drawing new users that hadn't traveled downtown, Schmidt said. When the Ladd gift surfaced, officials decided to put the money into a permanent facility with an array of community meeting space, computers and internet for people to search for jobs or work, and books in 21,000 square feet of an old Target store.

Usage slipped once the new downtown library opened and again after hours were cut, including eliminating Saturdays at Ladd, in March 2016, but remains strong, Schmidt said.

In 2007, the smaller westside branch had 101,883 visits and circulated 170,713 items. By 2016, visits had climbed to 165,206 and circulation to 294,927, according to library figures.

Schmidt said after budget cuts, library officials made changes to improve service at Ladd Library, including having consistent staff assigned to the building rather than rotating to the main library. This has improved relationships with patrons, which in turn improves feedback, she said.

Brad Wiley, 31, of Cedar Rapids, has been a regular at Ladd for a few months. He sets up a laptop at a table and conducts his business as a film producer for Scene 5 Films.

He describes Ladd as being steadily busy, although bandwidth at times is a little slow. The biggest draw for him is proximity to home.

'I've been to the downtown location once or twice, but I always come here because it is much closer,” he said.

Young Parents Network is among several human service organizations using the library space and location.

The library hosts Women, Infant and Children food and nutrition informational sessions, healthy families days, a backpack giveaway, financial literacy programs, programming tailored to immigrant populations and Westdale Area Neighborhood Association meetings.

The library recently began exploring becoming home to a new initiative called the Center for Working Families, in which partner agencies would use the library to connect with families and provide a variety of services and information. It would be similar to the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families in Des Moines.

Stephanie Neff, head of the neighborhood association, said the Ladd Library has filled a void in an area with a diverse population and diverse needs, and one that is trying to build a sense of community.

'Having not just a library, but Ladd Library as a community center is so important for us,” Neff said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com