The Toledo Lucas County Public Library announced Wednesday that it will build a long-awaited branch library in Whitehouse if its proposal for an additional 1-mill tax increase gets approved by voters in the Nov. 5 election.
The 20-year-old Whitehouse Library at 10651 Waterville St. would be razed to make room for the modern branch library, said Jason Kucsma, executive director of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.
The estimated cost to build a new branch library is between $12 million and $20 million. Much depends on the final design, which will come after meeting with Whitehouse-area residents, he said.
If the levy passes, the new structure will be fully staffed and open full time, like other branch libraries.
The existing, all-volunteer Whitehouse Library began operation in July, 2004. It is not affiliated with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library system and has been open only 15 hours a week.
Volunteers working there would be welcome to continue donating their time at the new branch library after it opens, said Terri Carroll, Toledo Lucas County Public Library communications director.
The site is on the north side of the Blue Creek Metropark, on the edge of the historic and biologically diverse Oak Openings region.
The new branch library would be 15,000 to 20,000 square feet in size, with part of it devoted to being a conservation literacy center, Mr. Kucsma said.
“We think this collaboration between Metroparks and the library will be a first of its kind in the country,” he said. “We’ve all come to love our Metroparks because of the way we use them. This is an opportunity for us to put a spotlight on that.”
The additional 1-mill levy that’s proposed is for capital improvements only. It would last 30 years, generate about $153 million, and cost approximately $3 more a month in taxes for every $100,000 of assessable property value, Mr. Kucsma said.
Known as Issue 24, the new tax would be separate from the five-year, 3.7-mill levy that voters approved in 2022 for operations, he said.
The impetus for a branch library in the village began at least 30 years ago when Whitehouse officials came to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Board of Trustees with a request for one but were turned down.
The campaign continued with a group approaching the Lucas County Board of Commissioners in hopes that the board would help make the case for them. A Blade article from 1995 said Whitehouse residents told commissioners the community had been trying to get its own branch library “for at least five years.”
Whitehouse third graders called for a branch library during several annual mock village council sessions, including one that year. Youngsters also collected books for a future library in 2000 to continue making their case for a branch at another mock session.
The community eventually built its own library out of donated materials, including at least one manufactured home.
Whitehouse Library has been registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization since it opened in the summer of 2004. The library website states that it has more than 20,000 print and video items.
The Lucas County library system now agrees there has been enough growth in the Whitehouse area to build a branch library there, Mr. Kucsma said.
“With this bond issue, we think it’s finally time to address this issue in southwestern Lucas County,” he said. “The fact they’ve been able to sustain a volunteer library for 20 years speaks to how well they could sustain a branch library.”
Mr. Kucsma said the project “is at the top of our list of priorities,” and that a deal is in the works for a long-term lease for land that Metroparks Toledo owns.
Bonds would be sold to finance the new library during the first or second quarter of 2025. Design and construction would take about a year apiece, he said.
Money from the 30-year levy on the ballot also would go toward expansion and improvement of other branch libraries, Mr. Kucsma said.
Scott Carpenter, Metroparks Toledo spokesman, said the park district sees the project as a “unique facility [that] would continue the long tradition of innovative experiences offered by our Library and Metroparks.”
“The idea is to create a new model that doesn’t exist anywhere that we are aware of, a blend between a nature center and library that focuses on the natural history of our region and ‘conservation literacy,’” Mr. Carpenter said.
He said the park district has enjoyed its relationship with the all-volunteer Whitehouse Library and looks forward to the next chapter for that region with a fully staffed, modern branch library.
“Together, we have an opportunity to bring our community more engaging educational experiences in this natural setting,” Mr. Carpenter said. “A blended library/conservation center here would serve as a gateway to the rare and beautiful Oak Openings region, a destination for family outings, and a center for learning about this region’s natural heritage.”
Louann Artiaga, president of both the Whitehouse Village Council and the nonprofit Whitehouse Library Board of Directors, said the community is “absolutely thrilled.”
“It has been our goal since Day 1 to be part of the Toledo Lucas County Library system. We couldn’t be happier. It’s kind of like a dream come true,” she said. “We are obviously ready to move forward.”
She said her daughter, Stephanie Vasko, now 42 and living in East Toledo, was one of the original third graders who campaigned for a branch library in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Ms. Artiaga said she has seen artist renderings of what the future branch library might look like and said it “would be great if we got anything like that.”
First Published October 23, 2024, 1:51 p.m.
