As three former Madison mayors, we have followed with great interest the various proposals for a new Madison Central Library.

We were very gratified to see funding for the Fiore/Irgens proposal for a new Central Library in Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's proposed capital budget, which the City Council will consider this fall.

We couldn't be more supportive.

The experience of other cities that have recently built new central libraries clearly indicates that a new, exciting, state-of-the-art Central Library will result in significant increases in circulation and visits.

Des Moines, Iowa (which has a population similar to Madison's) constructed a new library in 2005. Both circulation and visits more than doubled and remain at that level nearly three years later. The same phenomena occurred in St. Cloud, Minnesota (which built a library in July 2008) and in Salt Lake City, Utah (which built a library in 2003).

This experience suggests a new Central Library will enjoy substantially increased use by Madison residents.

Additionally, providing access to information and enhanced public spaces for programs and meetings is part of the character of Madison. All of this will make a new Central Library an additional Downtown destination.

Everyone who has spent time at the current Central Library knows it has deteriorated over the past 20 years while money has been spent to create an outstanding branch library system. However, the Central Library, which should be the showpiece of the system and the library's "central nervous system" has, as a consequence, been neglected.

The need to do something about Central Library has become increasingly urgent.

Having successfully navigated budget sessions as mayors, we appreciate the difficulty in assembling the critical mass of funds to complete a project of this size. There is always more demand for capital and operating dollars than there is supply, and the problem becomes particularly acute when funding a major project such as this.

We think Mayor Cieslewicz has been able to craft a budget proposal for the Central Library that will work. By using a combination of federal New Market Tax Credits, proceeds from the sale of the current facility, fundraising by the Madison Public Library Foundation, and general obligation debt, he has proposed a package that is both balanced and sensible.

In addition, the timing could not be more favorable. Construction costs are down substantially because of the economy. Additionally, the New Market's Tax Credit program (which, under the mayor's proposal, will provide $6 million of actual equity in the project) may not be around forever.

In short, a civic undertaking of this size is never easy to fund. And we assure you, it won't be any easier in the future. If nothing is done, good money will have to be expended after bad in trying to hold the existing central facility together.

We do not believe the "rehab option" is the right choice. It will not deliver the kind of enhanced property (and possibly room tax) revenue that a whole block-wide redevelopment will provide. It will also not achieve the kind of fresh, 21st century structure that Madison deserves. And when the revenue from property taxes is factored in with the private redevelopment of the existing site, it will cost about the same.

That makes the choice very easy.

We urge the City Council to support the mayor's proposed capital budget for funding the new Central Library. There will never be a better time to complete this long overdue, much needed, and very exciting project.

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