South Bend officials, residents press to save historic library as repair costs and grant rules loom

South Bend residents and library supporters pressed the City Council on June 9 to preserve and repair the city’s 1913 library, while council members said the building’s repair scope and funding remain uncertain.

Speakers at the meeting cited multiple repair bids and a Commerce capital appropriation that is currently reappropriated through June 2027. Jenny Knoyer, who identified herself as the group's president and a former South Bend librarian, said the Friends have been gathering repair estimates and ‘‘We think that it is entirely possible that the required repairs could be completed at a much lower price point, than what has been mentioned before.’’ Knoyer also said the Commerce grant had been reappropriated and that the Friends have some money in their bank account to contribute.

The mayor and staff outlined a range of costs and constraints. The council discussed two distinct approaches to fixing the front steps — a full replacement described in the city engineer’s plan and a lower-cost option using helical piers that would lift and level the existing steps. City staff cautioned that earlier bids ranged widely and that some comprehensive abatement-and-repair estimates ran as high as about $1,000,000. The mayor noted that prevailing-wage rules apply to work funded, even in part, by Commerce dollars and said the city should not spend partial amounts that could leave the project unfinished.

Cheryl Haywood, identified at the meeting as the Timberland Regional Library director, urged the city to consult program staff to confirm whether Commerce funds could be used for alternative elements of the project and described strict application and expenditure rules for the capital-improvement program. The mayor summarized that Commerce’s reappropriated award covered roughly $250,000 and requires a 50% local match, meaning a total project of about $500,000 if the award is fully used.

The council heard public concerns about lead dust and asbestos in the building. A city-circulated letter from Joel Fennoyer explained that a steps bid arrived at roughly $39,000 and that, after covering the step repair, potentially more than $150,000 could remain for other repairs — depending on final scopes and whether bids include required prevailing wages and full contents handling.

After discussion, the council voted to explore an interim memorandum of understanding with the nearby city of Raymond and an agreement with Timberland Regional Library to share ongoing operating costs (janitorial, utilities and similar monthly expenses) and to allow library services to continue while the repair scope, funding and permit requirements are clarified.

The council did not adopt a construction contract, levy, or final funding plan at the meeting; staff said the earliest realistic timeline for major state grant decisions would be in the next legislative cycle and that work requiring full funding would likely not begin for at least a year.