The face-eating leopard mayor is planning to rip our public library from downtown, give the site to private capital, make a different library that contributes to parasitic car-dependent sprawl.
DULUTH — The city's main public library may be overdue for a change of scenery, and Mayor Roger Reinert contends it's high time to consider alternatives to the three-floor downtown building that serves as its operational base.
On Thursday, Library Services Manager Carla Powers and several staff members toured a prospective space in the Arrowpointe Building, 4316 Rice Lake Road, formerly home to UnitedHealthcare's Duluth operations.
Reinert stressed that the visit was purely exploratory and preliminary, characterizing it as being "100% in the homework phase."
"We, as leaders, are bound always to explore options, and this was something brought to us," he said.
In an email sent to city councilors Thursday, Powers wrote that she and a city team "are in the early stages of vetting an idea," which she described as "potentially relocating the main library to leased space in the Arrowpointe Building."
If the city decides to pursue that option at some point, Powers said: "In conjunction with this, a new branch would be established in a yet-to-be-determined leased space in the downtown."
Wherever the main library lands, Reinert explained that he remains committed to maintaining a meaningful downtown presence, especially in light of addressing the housing and mobility concerns of local residents.
"No. 2, it is the heart of our community, and I believe that a library belongs in the heart of our community," he said.
Thirdly, Reinert pointed to ongoing efforts to revitalize Duluth's downtown and convert underutilized commercial space into housing that could bring more people downtown at all hours of the day. He considers an attractive library as the sort of public amenity that could draw people to the neighborhood.
While 1st District Duluth City Councilor Wendy Durrwachter voiced support for the city's exploratory efforts, she said: "I would like to make sure all the services that support the most vulnerable people in our community stay downtown, where residents have ready walking or bus access."
Reinert noted that he has been discussing regional approaches that could provide pooled funding for libraries, parks and fire operations throughout the area since taking office two years ago. Against that backdrop, he said city staff are looking beyond downtown Duluth.
Although Reinert considers speculation to be premature at this point, he suggested: "If there were a regional possibility ... certainly our neighbors likely would be more interested in a location that's closer to their residents."
In that respect, he agreed a Rice Lake Road location might seem more appealing to the people of Hermantown, Rice Lake and Proctor than the site of the current downtown main library. Reinert noted that roughly one-third of Duluth library cardholders already hail from neighboring communities.
Reinert said staff will consider alternatives, such as leasing vs. owning the space that houses the main public library, as they weigh the city's options.
Duluth's current main library has been flagged for its energy inefficiency and a layout that makes the space difficult to safely oversee — a situation that has been brought to light by repeated troublesome incidents, including attacks on staff.
"You would not design a library building today the way it was in the 1980s," Reinert said. "I was not elected to be a status-quo mayor, and in many cases, I'm trying to take a few steps back and whiteboard the situation and ask: If we were going to do this today, how would we do it?"
If the main library stays in its current location, Reinert said he favors the idea of reimagining the corner as a possible site for a taller building that could accommodate a combination of uses, such as library services, retail/commercial operations and housing up top.
"It really is an amazing location. And I invite people to think: What would it be like to have a residential tower like that on a corner with easy walking access to Bayfront, the DECC, the lake and the Lakewalk?" Reinert said.
"But I think what everyone would acknowledge is that the option of doing nothing — to continue on with what we have where it's at, with Band-Aids and duct tape, is unacceptable," he said.
Toward that end, Reinert described feeling a certain sense of urgency.
"I'm not here to muddle along, and I think within the next year we need to make some decision about where we're headed with our main library, whether we're rebuilding on the current location or partnering with our neighbors and doing something different," he said.
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/duluth-explores-options-for-new-public-library
