Library bathroom renovation flushed in Springdale

Marcia Ransom, director of the Springdale Public Library, discusses the condition of the flooring Jan. 24 in the public bathrooms at the library. Go to nwadg.com/photos for more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Marcia Ransom, director of the Springdale Public Library, discusses the condition of the flooring Jan. 24 in the public bathrooms at the library. Go to nwadg.com/photos for more photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

SPRINGDALE -- People at the Public Library will have to use the bathrooms "as is" until library officials can come up with a renovation plan the City Council likes.

Librarian Marcia Ransom presented the council with a $141,000 bid from Milestone Construction for improvement to the four public restrooms. She said the bathrooms received maintenance as needed, but haven't been renovated since 2010 when the library was expanded.

Springdale Public Library

2109 estimates

Visitors: 849,297

Circulation: 415,310

Program attendance: 17,532

Meeting room use: 3,797

Source: Springdale Public Library

The City Council on Jan. 21 said no to the renovation, balking at the cost.

"I wasn't surprised they turned it down," Mayor Doug Sprouse said. "They've just come out of a very tight budget process. They probably want to get the year started and see how it goes."

Justin Robert, 22, headed straight to the men's bathroom when he walked into the library recently. He'd been walking in the adjacent Murphy Park.

Robert agreed the bathrooms need a renovation.

"To be honest, it looks old," he said.

Council members Amelia Williams, Mike Overton, Colby Fulfer and Brian Powell voted against the bathroom renovation. Kathy Jaycox, Rick Evans and Jeff Watson approved the plan. Mike Lawson didn't attend the meeting.

Overton said he visits the library nearly every week, but doesn't see the need for a total redo of the men's room.

Sprouse said he and his staff will work with Ransom to develop a plan the council will approve.

"It's like a kitchen redo," Ransom said. "You do the counters, then you need to do the floors, and then you want to replace the appliances. Where do you start, and where do you stop?"

The city's capital improvement fund had $2.4 million at the end of 2019, said Wyman Morgan, director of finance and administration.

During a tour Jan. 24 of the women's bathroom, Ransom showed the sink counter pulling away from the wall and chips in the mirror. She said the locks on stalls had been replaced many times.

She said the bathrooms need drywall ceilings rather than a drop ceiling with panels where contraband can be hidden. Some people try to steal DVDs. The alarms go off as they exit and duck into the bathroom to hide the items, Ransom said.

The cleanliness of the grout between the 6-inch floor tiles also concerns Ransom. She told the council about incidents of vomit and blood the prior week.

"I want surfaces we can clean and make them as sanitary as we can," she said.

Diana Bisbee was at the library with her daughter-in-law and young grandchildren. She thinks the bathrooms are fine and don't need a pricey update. The equipment works, the fixtures look new and they're clean, she said.

Ransom referred to a 2015 needs assessment saying the bathrooms should have been fixed long ago. The library recorded an estimated 850,000 visitors last year, according to records provided by Ransom.

The assessment listed 15 improvements needed, and most have been completed with money from the library board and the city's fund for capital improvements. Combined, the money built office space for staff and provided two electronic systems for book sorting. City money provided a new phone system, replaced a boiler for a heating unit, installed an LED lighting system and new book-shelving units.

Most maintenance improvements such as electrical or plumbing come from the library's annual budget.

The Springdale Public Library Foundation receives money from an endowment started 50 years ago, Ransom said.

Williams voted to deny money for the project, saying during the meeting she would prefer the money provide a guard or other safety measures at the library. She listed reports from residents of drunk and disruptive people, private study carrels always full and homeless and truant students hanging out in the library.

Sprouse said the city would examine these issues and consider updating library policies.

NW News on 02/03/2020

Upcoming Events