On September 16, 2024, the Sioux Center City Council approved a bid on the library’s upcoming building project. This project will consist of a large hands-on STEM room, the addition of 3 small study rooms, an enclosed kids’ computer room, and a renovated large programming room. While the contractor will be given some flexibility on the start date, the library has set a firm completion date of May of 2025, in order to prepare for their summer reading program.
This project was originally estimated to have a total cost of $440,000. However, after reviewing the bids and updated furniture information, the total cost for this project will be closer to $647,048.00. The city council did approve moving forward with our project, with the understanding that we are expected to continue fundraising or find ways to cut costs.
We have been blessed with $259,682 in pledges and donations from various organizations and community members. When combined with the city funding and excess library budget, we have a total on-hand of $576,730 for this project. However, that leaves us with a gap of approximately $70,000. Therefore, we are once again fundraising to close the gap that we need in order to fully fund this project without having to take away from any areas inside the library. We know that, when completed, this project will be beneficial to everyone in our community.
The library will be holding a community fundraiser on Saturday, November 16. We are putting on a Pizza Puzzles Pub event at The Ridge Club House. There will be two rounds. The first round will be for City Celebrities. We encourage local businesses to sign up their team of four to compete! Then at 7:00pm will be a public event for the community. The public is also invited to come watch the competition for $5. For more information on this event, please click below:
City Celebrities at 5:00pm
Public Event at 7:00pm
If you have questions on this project, please contact Becky or Heidi in the library. Donations can be mailed to the library to:
Sioux Center Public Library
102 S. Main Ave
Sioux Center, IA 51250
You can also donate online by clicking the “Donate Here” button below.
Thank you for supporting your local library! We are blessed to be a part of such a giving community!
Here are a few renderings of what the future Children’s STEM room will look like.
