Madison’s library system is currently unable to afford staffing and operations for the planned $18.6 million Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, even if a referendum passes this fall. Plans for the east side project have been in the works for a decade, but the city has faced escalating budget issues for years, and a plan to pay for the center’s operations — with an estimated annual cost of $1.3 million–$1.6 million — was never fully developed.
If voters reject a property tax referendum for as much as $22 million in November, the city will need to proceed with substantial cuts, which would include other service reductions in the library system.
The 16,000-square-foot Imagination Center would combine the library with a park pavilion and other city services. In the surrounding neighborhood, residents are currently over two miles from the closest library. The center would serve roughly 26,000 residents once open, but public concern is growing as the timeline for the project has already been shifted several times. With the operating budget unsettled, the library is holding off on going out to bid for construction.
