Advertisement Mall owner Marvin Wanders suggested the village lease mall space or buy part of it n like a condominium n for the library.
The numbers did not add up for village officials. The cost to lease 14,000 square feet of space in the mall would be roughly $3 million over 20 years, well more than the $2 million village officials have discussed paying for a new library home.
If the village purchased the space the cost would be $1.5 million to $2 million. That did not take into account future costs of parking lot improvements or the like, said village Administrator/Clerk Catherine Schmit.
Schmit presented the numbers to the village Finance and Personnel Committee Tuesday.
“The cost is pretty stiff,” Trustee Rich Anderson said.
Schmit also said the Friends of the Holmen Area Library have checked most available space in the village and do not have any prospects.
Holmen’s library is in an old grocery store and is way too small for a locale of Holmen’s size, according to library standards.
The mall proposal was very tentative and will not get action from the Village Board.
“It is an interesting concept,” Schmit said.
Village space
Holmen’s growth is showing up in Village Hall. “The police are shoulder-to-shoulder, we have various properties around the village, we’re all pretty crowded,” Schmit said.
She is asking for a consultant to do a facilities needs study for the village. “We want to know where we are at and where we are going,” she said.
A study could tell the village how to prepare for future space needs. The village board should have proposals by consultants for its July meeting.
Building fees
Village assessor and building inspector Bud Raymer wants more money for his work, according to a report to the Finance and Personnel Committee.
“Bud says his costs are rising and he says he was told by (former village administrator) Gene Alberts that his fees would grow as the village grows,” Schmit said.
Holmen charges $500 for a home inspection and $650 for a duplex construction inspection. Raymer is paid $300 for a single family home and $425 for duplexes.
“We could raise the fee or we could reduce the village’s share,” Schmit offered. She added that she is in favor of leaving the fees the way they are.
Raymer did not appear before the committee to make a case for an increase, so the committee tabled the matter.
Advertisement 
