- Capital Area District Library (CADL) may relocate due to high maintenance costs.
- Library officials argue the financial burden is too great to stay in the current downtown Lansing location.
- Pat Olsen, a regular visitor, and other neighbors oppose the move citing convenience and accessibility.
- City council passed a resolution against the relocation, emphasizing the library's importance to the community.
- The library has a lease with the Lansing School District that allows them to leave with a 60-day notice.
- Watch video above for more.
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You can say Pat Olsen is pretty committed to the Capital Area District Library in Downtown. He said he takes the bus to the location 5 times a week for the computer services.
“It's a good convenient spot, very convenient spot,” Olsen said.
But that spot may change in the future.
“I don’t think that Council is fully aware of the financial strain on CADL, stemming from ongoing issues at the downtown location,” said CADL Executive Director Jenny Marr.
Marr spoke at public comment during the October 14th City Council meeting, explaining how the relocation conversation started. The Library is on a 50-year, 10-dollar-a-year lease with the Lansing School District until 2048, and with the building being older, Marr and her team don't know if it would make financial sense for them to stay there, given the maintenance fees.
“We have done that maintenance each year, but it's just getting more each year,” Marr said.
City Council does not agree with the move, unanimously passing a resolution last week saying they discourage any efforts to relocate the library from downtown.
“We don't have the authority to make CADL maintain a downtown location, but this is us, as an election body. asking them to consider not moving it and that we believe this location is crucial for accessibility,” said councilman Adam Hassain.
The lease agreement with the school district allows the library to walk away without penalties with a 60-day notice. While plans are still up in the air, neighbors like Olsen hope the library stays exactly where it is.
“I don’t want it to move,” he said.
