With the Library Foundation taking over expansion and renovation of the Walter E. Olson Memorial Library in Eagle River, the library Board of Trustees last week agreed to honor decisions of the Foundation building committee and hold the Foundation harmless for those decisions.
Board of Trustees president Laurie Stoegbauer told the trustees the Foundation wanted this. When asked about the Foundation web site claim of being “completely transparent” when their meetings are not subject to open meeting requirements, Stoegbauer said “once all the contracts are in place, their meetings will be open.”
Stoegbauer indicated now that expansion and renovation is private, they would like a total maximum price from the contractor. She felt that once construction actually starts there would be additional donations coming in.
“Our goals are the same,” Stoegbauer said. “we pay for operations and the Foundation pays for the contractor. They can only spend money on the library and I think we can work together well.”
Trustee Jill Kunes chairs the building committee that includes a mixture of Foundation and trustee members, plus one citizen member. A meeting held recently to finalize the contract with the architect was closed. A design meeting to be held at Northland Pines high school is open.
