Turkey Creek Township Public Library outlines plan for new 14,000-square-foot building, shows preliminary bond options
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Summary
Library leaders presented a plan to build a new single-story, roughly 14,000-square-foot library on town-donated land, described site work and environmental studies, and received preliminary financing estimates from municipal advisor Baker Tilly and architect Arcos Design.
The Turkey Creek Township Public Library presented the council with plans for a new single-story library of roughly 14,000 square feet on land donated by the town of Syracuse, and shared preliminary municipal-financing options that would not affect county debt.
Kim, speaking for the library project team, outlined the property acquisition and planning process: the library purchased adjacent property in 2020, conducted feasibility studies and environmental testing (through a MACOG grant), and obtained deed transfer and some zoning variances. The library said a new building would free up meeting and study space, provide on-site parking and reduce long-term operating costs compared with extensive renovations of the existing 104-year-old Carnegie-era building.
Lisa Huntington of Baker Tilly, municipal advisors to the library, presented preliminary financing scenarios. Huntington said the library "has no general obligation debt, so their GO bonding capacity is about $16,000,000," and presented two illustrative borrowing ranges. A lower-range financing of about $6.3 million with a 19-year payment schedule produced an estimated maximum annual payment near $725,000 and a district tax-rate impact around 2.98 cents (using 2025 net assessed values). At the higher borrowing example (about $7.3 million), Huntington said the 19-year maximum payment would be about $795,000 and the corresponding tax-rate impact about 3.27 cents. Baker Tilly translated those examples to estimated taxpayer impacts: on a home market value of about $173,000, the 19-year bond would increase annual taxes by about $22–$24 depending on the borrowing amount.
Architect Philip DeAngelis of Arcos Design described the new facility and site plan: a one-floor building to minimize elevator and accessibility costs, expanded parking (more than double current capacity), on-site outdoor program space, and mechanical systems sized for current codes to lower future operating costs. DeAngelis said the proposed site is outside the floodplain that affects nearby apartments and that two additional lots are under contract contingent on bond approval.
Nut graf: The library presented evidence that renovating the current facility would be costly and landlocked; the new-site plan aims to expand usable space, increase community meeting capacity and improve parking and energy efficiency. The financing scenarios are preliminary and based on 2025 assessed values; final borrowing decisions would follow further planning and a bond referendum or library board action.
Council members asked for supporting documents and a compact report; the library team said they would email plans and studies to the council. No council votes were required on the presentation; the library confirmed it will not seek a bond until after the new year and asked only for informal feedback and time to complete financing work.
Ending: The library will continue design and financing work, provide requested documents to the council, and return with firm borrowing requests and a formal bond package when ready.
