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Newly Remodeled Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library Dedicated

May 4, 2015 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The newly remodeled Dell Rapids Carnegie Library was dedicated on Saturday, May 2nd, on a picture perfect morning.

Tom Earley, president of the Board of Trustees, opened up the dedication ceremony with a few opening remarks. “Today we celebrate the completion of the renovation of the original Dell Rapids Carnegie Public library and the completion of the addition. You see before you a building renovated to the standards of today…updated infrastructure wired for technology. The additional space allows us to improve our service with new and exciting programs,” said Earley.

A new flag pole dedication followed an invocation by Pastor Melissa Fletcher. Eight members of the Dell Rapids High School choir sang the national anthem as the American flag was raised on the new flag pole for the first time. American Legion Post 65 presented the colors.

Mayor Scott Fiegen also spoke during the ceremony. “I’ve been involved in many projects over the years as mayor, but none that have taken this long.” Mayor Fiegen then asked those in attendance to raise their hands if they served as a library board member, served on the city council, or donated time or money to the project. “Just look around at the hands up, just look around. This is what a community project looks like. This is definitely a community project.” Mayor Fiegen also said, “I think this is a great addition to our community,” after thanking many for their work and dedication to the project.

Library Director Brittany Moeller said, “I just want to thank everybody for their continued support and dedication to this project. With this new library, my staff and I are eaglery anticpating the different opportunities and programs we will be able to offer the community of Dell Rapids.”

Mary Jones, Director of Siouxland Libraries was the guest speaker during the ceremony. She concluded with a challenge to the audience. “You all need to find and renew all the ways you can to encourage the use of this new facility and connect with the community after this celebration today.”

The 45-minute dedication ceremony ended with a ribbon cutting with the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce and refreshments served inside the library.

Library Renovation Project Running on Schedule

January 27, 2015 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

During the Dell Rapids City Council meeting on Monday, January 19th, Tom Earley presented to the council the progress on the library renovation project. Earley told the council that the library has received around $24,000 in donations since his last update back in November 2014. Earley also mentioned different aspects of the project in the update.

“The ceramic tile in the bathrooms and entrance way have been installed. It’s looking good,” said Early. “The elevator installation is supposed to start next Monday (January 26th) and should take about two weeks. As that gets close to completion, they will schedule the dry wall people back in to get that area finished off.”

Early provided the council with a timeline for completion. He noted that the library staff is already preparing for the move from their current location in the River Community Church building (old elementary) back into the library. The estimation for the move is sometime in late March.

“We are on schedule for completion March 6th. The week of February 26th I think it is, or thereabouts, we will do the walk-thru for a bunch of us to see what needs to be addressed at that point,” Earley said.

The library was last dedicated on March 16th, 1910. Earley presented the idea of having a re-dedication ceremony once the project was completed.

“What we’d like to do, once the move is completed and once we’ve had time to figure out if everything is where it ought to be, we’d like to have a re-dedication ceremony, possibly in May. We would like this to be a community-significant event. It’s an important resource, and you guys have helped make it possible. It should be something significant in the life of our community,” he said.

Earley finally mentioned that the Library Board is constructing a short and long-term landscaping plan.

Library Director Brittany Moeller said, “I would add how appreciative we are to the community of Dell Rapids! Everyone has shown tremendous amounts of support during this project, and we are so excited to move back in! We have big plans for the new library, and we can’t wait to get them started!”

Library Ground-Breaking Ceremony Held

July 10, 2014 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Library addition/renovation project took another step forward with the ground-breaking ceremony that was held on Tuesday, July 8th, at 4:00 p.m. Past and present library board members, the mayor, city council members, along with many others were on hand to take part in the ceremony.

Library Board President Tom Earley started the ceremony by saying, “We are here to celebrate a significant event to the history of the Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library.”

“This thing has been a long time coming. I think as long as I’ve been mayor, we’ve been working on this project. This is going to be a fantastic addition to the community. Want to thank all the people that donated money to this cause,” said Mayor Scott Fiegen.

The Dell Rapids City Council recently voted to provide $360,000 of municipal money to help the library close a gap in funding of the project. The project is going to add about a 2,000-squre foot addition to the library along with restoration to the current building.

“All along our main priority has been the renovation of the existing Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library, making the library ADA accessible to all customers and that will be achieved with the addition of the elevator. We have also wanted to increase the square footage of the library,” said Earley during the ceremony.

Members of the library board of trustees, Mayor Fiegen, Helen Aspaas, and current Library Director Brittany Moeller dug the first hole for the ground-breaking ceremony. Gil Haugan Construction, Inc. began work on the $1.1 million project on Wednesday, July 9th.

The library will be closed Monday, July 14th through Sunday, July 20th, while they move into their temporary location of the old elementary school building. The library will re-open on Monday, July 21st, on the east side of the building.

Library Project to Move Forward

June 25, 2014 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids Carnegie Library project will move forward after a decision made by the Dell Rapids City Council on Monday, June 16th. During the council’s regular meeting, the council voted to use general fund dollars to offset the gap the library had in their building fund for the addition/renovation project. The Council approved an amount of $360,000.

Prior to the approval by the council to give the library the amount of money needed to move the project forward, a proposal was defeated that would have loaned the amount to the library over a 10-year period of time. The vote for the loan was defeated with five ayes and two nays. A 2/3 majority was needed to approve that proposal.

City Councilman Dave Sommerfeld stated he would be in favor of the acceptance without the loan stipulation on the money. City Councilman Paul Miles moved to approve the amount without the loan stipulation. Councilman Mark Crisp seconded the motion. The motion passed with a 6-1 vote, with Councilman Chad Andrews voting nay. Councilman Lee Burggraff was absent from the meeting. The approval of the $360,000 also brought some changes to the original plans. The SEH contract will be changed to reduce the amount of on-site visits from twelve to six, and attendance at meetings will be teleconference in order to save costs on the project.

Library Renovation/Expansion Project Update

January 26, 2014 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Tom Earley spoke on behalf of the Library Board at the last Dell Rapid City Council Meeting on Tuesday, January 21st. The Library Board has met with engineers to review the plans for the library renovation/expansion project. The board recommended to the City Council that the prior contract with SEH, Inc. be terminated and that the council approve a new contract that better covers the new scope of the project. Councilor Paul Miles moved to terminate the prior contract and approve the new contract with SEH. Councilor Mark Crisp seconded the motion, and the motion carried.

Earley and the council also held discussions on the utility replacement for the entire project. Earley told the council that the Library board held discussions with SEH about replacing the entire sewer line instead of just replacing part of the line. The approved changed in the scope of the utility replacement portion of the project adds an estimated additional $4,000 to the budget of the utility replacement, bringing that entire budget to just under $100,000. The Library Board is paying for the utility replacement project, however, the City Council has agreed to pay the contracting expenses. The Library Board recommended to the City Council to approve the bid letting for the utility replacement project, but councilor Lee Burggraff requested the amount SEH is requesting as contracting expenses be presented to the council prior to voting the approval of the bid letting. That amount was not available, so councilor Chad Andrews motioned to table the approval of bid letting until the next meeting. Councilor Gary Haak seconded that motion, and the motion carried to table the bid letting approval.

The Library Board has been in discussions with the Dell Rapids School Board about possibly relocating to the old elementary building during the renovation project.

Let’s Move South Dakota Exhibit at Dell Rapids Carnegie Public Library

January 14, 2013 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Let’s Move South Dakota is a traveling hands-on exhibit that will inspire children and families to get active, eat healthy and feel good. Six interactive stations highlight the habits that can result in a healthy weight. The exhibit will be at the Carnegie Public Library from January 10, 2013 to January 31, 2013. The Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees together with the city of Dell Rapids brought the exhibit to Dell Rapids.

Exhibit coordinator Anne Lewis says that the exhibit was developed in response to the increased rates of obesity in the state. Lewis says that almost 14% of children in South Dakota are obese, more than double the rate 30 years ago, and almost two thirds of adults are obese or overweight.

“Our goal is for families to leave the exhibit with a renewed excitement about getting active and eating healthy foods ” said Lewis. “We want kids and families to have fun and learn at the same time.”

The exhibit stations are based on the action steps of the Let’s Move initiative started by First Lady Michelle Obama. “Don’t let the term action steps scare you,” says Lewis. “These steps are pretty simple and things our grandparents knew: move every day, eat fruits and veggies, prepare and eat meals together, drink smart by drinking beverages low in sugar, play more on your feet and less in front of a screen, and play outside.”

Lewis says that one way to keep motivated to move every day is for families to work on earning the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award PLUS. To earn the award, participants keep track of exercise for six weeks. They also add a new healthy eating habit each week such as adding more whole grains and eating lower sodium foods. Lewis says this award is for everyone. “We’ve had people from six to sixty six, literally, earn the award.”

Lewis invites everyone who signs up for the PALA Plus award online at www.presidentschallenge.org to join the Let’s Move South Dakota Discovery Center group. When group members earn their award they receive a certificate and a patch. If online access is a problem then participants can track their progress on paper using a form downloaded from the exhibit website.

Let’s Move South Dakota, made possible by a generous grant from the Wal-mart State Giving foundation, is available for a one month rental to schools, out of school time programs, libraries and other groups involved in promoting good health and good habits for children and families. For more information about the exhibit or rental, see the website at www.letsmovesouthdakota.org.

Library Opt Out Vote

July 17, 2012 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

UPDATE: The opt-out vote for the library renovation has failed to garner enough votes for passage. A total of 458 voters went to the polls (19.3%) with 251 voting ‘no’, while 207 voted ‘yes’. The Dell Rapids City Council will have a special meeting on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. to officially canvass the votes.

The Dell Rapids Carnegie Library opt-out vote will take place today, July 17th, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Voting will take place at the Dell Rapids American Legion on Orleans Ave. A simple majority vote is needed to allow for a $60,000 per-year levy to help fund the renovation and expansion of the library. If the opt-out passes, the cost per person is esitmated to be between $35 – $40 per $100,000 valuation per property, and would be payable starting the calendar year of 2013.