MRRL checking out Carnegie purchase

The Missouri River Regional Library (MRRL) board discussed purchasing the Carnegie building in Jefferson City from the county at its Tuesday night meeting.

The building was originally a free public library financially supported by Andrew Carnegie in 1900. At one point, the building was a center for entertainment for the city and county. It now houses Cole County offices.

Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher and Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman have expressed interest in moving the county offices to the old St. Mary's medical facility, but they also said they would like to keep county offices downtown. The MRRL current downtown location would meet the county's need for office space, Recorder Ralph Bray said.

However, the MRRL Board expressed no interest in selling a building they have nearly finished upgrading.

The MRRL Capital Repair Project upgrade should be finished sometime in the next two weeks, assistant director Betty Hagenhof said. The project will repair or replace the building's heating and air conditioning controls as well as many other mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades and repairs.

The board recently elected to have the county assessor value the library annex housing the offices of MRRL director Claudia Schoonover, Hagenhoff and others. The library rents the annex building, and the board has considered purchasing it in the past.

The board mentioned moving their offices to the Carnegie building, but they were hesitant to give up the location of the annex building because of its access to ample parking for staff and patrons, Schoonover said. Members of the board also expressed concerns with the Carnegie building's repair needs.

The board decided to consult with Clark Enersen Partners to examine options and associated costs with all three buildings, Hagenhoff said. The architecture firm also conducted the study of the facilities for the Capital Repair Project.

Schoonover told the board she and Paula Schulte, MRRL marketing director, recently met with state representatives and Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, to discuss Gov. Jay Nixon's withholds of more than $6 million from the library budget through state aid and the REAL program.

Schoonover said this translates to a loss of more then $50,000 for MRRL, and the same cuts are in the 2016 budget.

"We hope there will be a change," Schoonover said. "Because it will have an affect on our library in the long term for our cost to do maintenance and with keeping up with modern technology."

In other library news, the ABLE and MRRL annual book sale has ended and the early income estimation, before subtracting expenses, is more than $50,000, which is similar to earlier years' proceeds, Hagenhoff said.

"A lot of people look at that and they think that it is a huge amount of money for three days work," Hagenhoff said. "It is split (between MRRL and ABLE), plus there is a lot of time that goes into getting it. There are people here throughout the year sorting books. ... It is a year round effort and a lot of volunteers hours go into it over the course of the year."

MRRL is offering a writing clinic from 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays. Anyone can call MRRL to set up an appointment with Marsha Posz, who started working for the library about 16 months ago. She has a master's in English literature and was a writing teacher for three years, she said.

Tuesday's meeting was the last for Nicoll Clarkston, whose term expired, and the first for new board member Adam Veile.