Commissioners talk potential facelift for Nobles County Library's basement

Feb. 2—WORTHINGTON — The basement of the Nobles County Library in Worthington may get a facelift, if an idea presented before the Nobles County Board of Commissioners Tuesday is adopted.

The proposed changes include asbestos elimination, the removal of one wall and the addition of others, plus the purchase of accordion-style room dividers to help maximize the space's flexibility.

The tentative plan would also mean sharing space with the Nobles County Art Center — specifically, a classroom/art studio with a sink and movable storage, and a small storage room.

No decisions were made, nor votes taken on the matter, as Tuesday's meeting was a work session only.

"We thought we'd make good use of the spaces down there for both the Art Center and for the library," said Library Director Beth Sorenson. "We would be giving up some of our programming room that we are willing to share with the Art Center ... then they would have access to that all the time in exchange for some storage space, which we are incredibly short on."

The basement space was previously occupied by the Nobles County Historical Society.

Since the NCHS moved to the former armory, the previous exhibit room has been used for programming, including children's activities and events geared toward adults, such as author visits and presentations. Smaller rooms vacated by the Historical Society are used as conference rooms, which the public can reserve at no cost, and storage for programming supplies, books for the book sale and currently-unused shelving.

Sorenson said she'd like to get soundproof accordion-style room dividers, which would allow the library to divide up the large exhibit room when needed, as sometimes children's activities are still going when librarians need to prepare the room for adult programming in the evening.

In addition, a divider would replace the wall between the two small conference rooms in the basement, allowing them to continue as conference rooms but also become an additional larger space when needed.

"These rooms are heavily used right now," she said.

A corner room in the basement could become a dedicated space for the library's book sale, which would be open once a month, perhaps with the assistance of the Friends of the Library Group. It would also serve as a meeting room for the Friends group and a location where staff could go to make personal phone calls or set up appointments, given that the current staff break room is not private, being located in the work room.

Sorenson would like to add a door between the back stairwell and the hallway as well, which would allow for better security and could be used to keep people from entering spaces reserved for staff.

Given that the library remains short on storage space, Sorenson asked if it would be possible to store some items off-site, such as large, heavy shelving units that currently don't fit but could be used later.

"I think it's great that we're working together, and we're looking at some economical ways to use space," said Commissioner Justin Ahlers, inquiring whether an architect or builder could draw up a more formal plan.

County Administrator Bruce Heitkamp said the library would need to consult with historians due to the War Memorial Building's inclusion on the National Registry of Historic Places, which can limit some renovation options.

"There's some things you can do, and some things you can't do," said Commissioner Bob Paplow, who also serves on the Nobles County Library Board.

Paplow worked on the renovation of the Heritage Center, which was also on the registry.

"I think that's a great, great start for the basement, then move from there upstairs, and go from there," he said.

Ahlers said while a more complete proposal may not be available for Tuesday's meeting of the full board, he hoped it could be ready for the Feb. 21 meeting.

In other news Tuesday, the board:

* Discussed the wifi hotspot services MVTV Wireless offers at several locations in Nobles County, which originated as part of the Nobles Economic Opportunity Network project and was intended to be a stopgap measure until communities could get their own internet services. MVTV sought direction from the county as the equipment used is becoming obsolete. Commissioners requested cost information for the equipment and will return to the question at a later date.

* Heard a pitch from Frontier Communications regarding its broadband initiative.

* Received a department presentation from the assessor's office.

* Received updates on the county's ongoing capital improvement projects, including its data center, standby generator, boiler replacement for the Prairie Justice Center and meeting room updates.