Ronan Library, city squabble over building ownership

For 49 years the Ronan Library has been located at the corner Main Street and Second Ave. West. Its future there may be in question, though, as the city considers a significant increase the library’s rent payment for the first time in nearly half a century.

Ronan Library District Director Michelle Fenger said she was not surprised when she found out in October the city would be looking to renegotiate its rental fee for the building. The library had been paying only $10 per year in rent since the building’s purchase in 1971, and the city is now facing a deficit in its budget. What caught Fenger by surprise was the amount of the rate hike.

A hand-written letter delivered by Ronan Mayor Kim Aipperspach on Jan. 6 informed Fenger the city will be asking for $1,440 per month in rent moving forward.

“When I got the letter about renegotiating the rent, I thought it was a reasonable request [to renegotiate the rent]. We had been paying so little for so long, it didn’t really surprise me,” Fenger said. “I was just hoping it would be something reasonable. Where am I supposed to pull $17,000 out of our yearly budget from? I don’t want to get into a situation where the library is in a deficit, too.”

The city agreed to discuss the matter with library officials at a meeting Jan. 13, but the situation only became even more complicated.

After doing hours of research, Fenger discovered several facts that may throw the true ownership of the library space into question.

Documents show the city purchased the Ronan State Bank building as a home for the city library in 1971, but, according to Fenger, some of the money for the purchase was provided by the Ronan Women’s Club. It was at this time that the rent amount of $10 per year was established.

The library expanded in 2001 after the city’s purchase of the H&G Building that’s connected to the library. This is where things get tricky.

Documents show the new space acquired by the library was actually purchased by the Friends of Library organization for $75,000, with an additional $3,811.43 going toward the renovation of the space. Fenger knows the exact amount of the purchase because library records still contain a copy of the check used to pay for the purchase.

While the Friends of Library provided the funds, the deed for the property remained in the city’s name as the library was a city entity at the time. That changed in 2013 when diminished funding led the library to break away from the city and form a library district, with its funding coming from a special tax levied to residents within the Ronan school district every year.

The only problem was, the library forgot to take the building ownership into account.

Shortly after the formation of the Ronan Library District in 2013, the city agreed to sell the library the contents of the library, transferring ownership of an estimated $840,000 worth of books, furniture and equipment for just $10.

Again, there was no mention of the building.

“In our opinion, the library should own the west half of the current space. It should not be in the city’s name, because the Friends of the Library paid for it,” Fenger said. “I understand that the city is facing a deficit, but doing this to the library is not the answer.”

To make matters worse, the proposed rate increase would come in the middle of a budget cycle for the library, meaning there are no funds currently available to pay such an increase until the start of its new budget cycle in June.

“I only have $10 in our budget right now put aside to pay [monthly] rent,” Fenger said. “There is just no way we could pay that much money right now.”

Also in question is the method used to come up with the new rental amount, which was calculated by taking the average rate per square foot paid by downtown merchants in Ronan, but Fenger disputes that calculation.

“That number is based on rates being paid by retail business owners. We are not a business. We are not a not-for-profit entity, but we are definitely not a business,” Fenger said.

With the ownership of the building in question, the library and city left the Jan. 13 meeting both agreeing to look for more information before moving forward. The entities are set to meet again in early March.

“It’s all very confusing and frustrating, but I am trying to figure it out. I feel that the Friends of Library wanted this library to be here forever and it is my job to make sure that happens. I can’t just let the library disappear,” Fenger said. “The community has been very supportive as we try to deal with this. The support we receive from this community never ceases to amaze me. Nobody wants to see the library disappear.”

The Daily Inter Lake’s attempts to reach Ronan Mayor Kim Aipperspach were unsuccessful.

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com.