IONIA, Mich. — In Ionia, Michigan, the current library on Main Street is a former mansion, filled to the brim with books.
"Every day, we're just further deteriorating the Hall-Fowler home," Executive Director for the Ionia Community Library Board Gale Yeomans said.
The current library is the smallest out of all the libraries in Ionia County, with the largest number of patrons.
Children in wheelchairs can't always use the elevator, because it's not ADA compliant. The staircase is also winding and dangerous. So much so, that from time to time when too many kids are gathered for the limited programming the library can provide, given its size, someone often sits at the top of the stairs to keep kids from falling down.
A library operating millage exists to support the function of all libraries in the county, but for years now, the Ionia Community Library Board has tried to get a new library for the downtown area. That requires passing a separate millage to cover the cost of the building.
Initially, they requested money from voters to build a new library. That millage was shot down.
But two years ago, the old Mercantile Bank building in downtown Ionia was donated to become the future home of the library. That building needs structural changes in order to house the books and create a space for learning in Ionia. Using an existing building cut the cost of construction by more than a million dollars.
“I wish it was as simple as just wheeling our books down the street,” Library Board President Gale Yeomans said.
In a 14-page assessment, leaders of the Library Board say they hired experts to tell them what needed to be done in order to make the space functional. All official documents on the millage are located at the bottom of this article.
The weight of books is part of the problem, and that's already a problem at the historic Hall-Fowler home. The plan is to turn the former library into a museum if voters approve the move to the new space.
But each time the library millage comes up on the ballot, it is shot down. People with the library say they continue to ask for the millage because they believe it would be best for the town.
Rusty Heppe voted "no" on all of the proposals for a library millage, except the most recent one in August. The most recent proposal failed by just 36 votes.
Heppe says he didn't know the value of the library until he needed to use it himself.
One day when his power and internet both went out, he needed both. He found himself with 30-40 other people crammed into the existing library. He says he understands that people don't want an increase in taxes, but also knows that the amount the average person in Ionia would have to pay is small in comparison to what it provides.
“A lot of it is, you don’t need it. You guys aren’t providing anything that people can’t get elsewhere... and that’s not true with a lot of kids in this community,” said Heppe.
Kids who live in Ionia struggled with reliable internet access, made prevalent during the pandemic and remote schooling. Ionia Public Schools are a Title 1 district, meaning more than 60% of kids in Ionia live below the poverty line.
“I started thinking about all the negativity I’d heard that caused me to vote no, and realized that it’s just a lot of nonsense,” Heppe said.
FOX 17 reached out to voters who are opposed to the library millage. None wanted to go on camera, but all expressed a similar sentiment: they don't want their taxes to increase by any amount. People who are against the library millage say the library board should give up and find another way to raise the funds.
The Library Board has done fundraisers, like hosting bingo at the Free Fair. That day they raised $629. Donated money from their lemonade stand totaled $84. They say, given the number of repairs and restructuring needed—that's simply not feasible. However, they say they're committed to trying to raise the money in any possible way— also applying for grants they say are "far and few between." But people with the library fear time is running out. The loan rate granted for the millage is only good until the end of the year.
Which is why, with changes, the millage is back on the November Ballot. The library millage is for .98 mills, over the course of 18 years for what the library calls a "bare bones" project. For a librarian at the Ionia Community Library on Tuesday, she said her total property tax increase would cost around $37.
The Library Board says they are unsure what they will do with the building downtown if the millage does not pass again. It occupies 3 storefronts and nearly 24 thousand square feet of Ionia's downtown. The current loan rate they are approved for is only good until the end of the year, only adding to the pressure of the November deadline.
Furthermore, Rusty Heppe says talking about the library in Ionia has become "toxic."
“I don’t know. I think that’s just culture, in general, these days. Maybe it’s politics… maybe people consider this politics,” Heppe said.
Documents related to this story can be found below:
