August 17, 2024
Greg Chandler, Sun and News Staff Writer
The Middleville Village Council Tuesday night voted unanimously to hire a consultant who will conduct a needs assessment to determine whether there is enough community support for a standalone public library.
The council approved retaining Ada-based Hopkins Fundraising Consulting to put together the feasibility study and authorized Village President Mike Cramer to sign the contract. Hopkins will be paid $25,000 to conduct the study, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The village and Thornapple Kellogg Schools will each contribute $2,500 toward the cost of the study, with the remaining $20,000 coming from the Friends of the Middleville Area Library through a grant from the Barry Community Foundation and funds that were previously raised, said Kate Bynski, president of the friends group.
Keith Hopkins, the principal for Hopkins Fundraising, had been picked last year to work on a feasibility study by a community group that served as a precursor to an ad hoc village committee that was appointed in September of last year to work on the library project. Bynski said the earlier group wasn’t registered as a nonprofit organization, so it could not legally enter into a contract with Hopkins, who did consulting work on the 2009 campaign that led to construction of the Caledonia branch of the Kent District Library.
“The library building itself needs to be held by a government entity, whether that’s a township or a village,” Bynski said after the council vote. “Going forward, we knew somebody would need to hold that study with Keith. The village is the logical (entity) because the school district is based in the village. If we’re going to move apart and keep those library lines the same, it made sense that it be in a central location.”
The current TK School and Community Library, located inside Thornapple Kellogg High School, is open to the community only 12 hours a week during the school year – 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday nights, and 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
According to statistics from the Library of Michigan released earlier this year, the library ranks in the bottom 10 of Michigan’s 394 libraries in terms of the number of hours it is open to the public each year, at only 804 hours for the 2022-23 fiscal year. It also ranks at the bottom for the size of community it serves, committee member Josh Mosey wrote in an email earlier in the year.
As part of the study, Hopkins will work with the leadership team to develop a document making the case for support of the new library. The document will detail the history of the plan, current library needs, proposed solutions and a campaign budget, Hopkins wrote in a memo to the village.
In his memo, Hopkins wrote that he would also assist the leadership team in identifying “opinion leaders” who have an interest in the project and the ability to support the campaign with a gift or pledge. He would then present a final report detailing the rindings of the feasibility study, which would include the following:
- Reaction to the proposed case for support
- Reaction to the project budget
- Strengths and weaknesses of the case
- Suggestions regarding campaign leadership
- Personal interest in being involved in an organized campaign effort
- Suggestions regarding other community donors who might support the campaign
- Willingness to support the campaign with a personal, corporate or foundation charitable gift
- Timing of the campaign
- Provide recommendations regarding moving to a campaign with an identified and achievable goal, or delaying a campaign until a more appropriate time.
As part of its approval, the village agreed to provide necessary clerical support needed to “effectively implement this feasibility study,” including researching prospective interview contact information, coordinating mailings, scheduling of leadership meetings and scheduling of study interview appointments, according to Hopkins’ memo.
Middleville Community Library 