Chanute City faces building repair challenge with Library and Safari Museum

CHANUTE, KS - The city of Chanute, Kansas, is grappling with a pressing issue involving facility repairs at the public library and Safari Museum. The concern centers around the deteriorating HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system in the shared city-owned building, which houses both institutions.

Jeana Lawrence, the Library Director of Chanute Public Library, has expressed her concern about the current state of the HVAC system. "Sometimes those pipes leak or those pans overflow and they have repeatedly rained down on all of the books upstairs in our children's department," said Lawrence.

According to her, the malfunctioning HVAC system has forced the library to close its doors on scorching summer days, making it a non-ideal situation for both patrons and staff. "It was like 90 degrees just downstairs. And then 100 and more upstairs. And that's not a workable situation," said Lawrence.

Both the library and the Safari Museum operate within this city-owned building, paying no rent but agreeing to cover maintenance and utility costs under the existing agreement.

However, both institutions find themselves unable to afford the estimated cost of around one million dollars required to replace the malfunctioning HVAC system. Besides, according to them, his is a "gray area," and it's hard to know who would be responsible for fixing it.

In the current agreement, the library and museum each set aside an amount for the Maintenance Fund. According to the Museum, the entity has paid $287,859 for maintenance and repair. The Library has paid a similar amount.

In response, the city has proposed a new agreement, as City Commissioner Phil Chaney explained, "They're leasing from us, and they'll pay a set amount each month, and we'll fix everything, just like a normal rental of a house or a building or something like that from a landlord."

Under this proposed agreement, the city would take responsibility for repairing the HVAC system, provided that the library and the Safari Museum sign the new lease. However, there seems to be a discrepancy in understanding between the city commission and the directors and board members of both institutions.

Heather Guernsey, a Foundation Board member, expressed the confusion, stating, "What was understood was that the library and museum would be responsible for all upkeep, which included the system. So if that's what the city commission thought, that is not what was communicated to the museum or the library."

Guernsey says their understanding come from the last City of Chanute Commission Meeting -- which can be found below. The discussion on the lease agreement starts at the 19:32 mark.

If the library and the museum are expected to cover the repair costs, they will need to develop a comprehensive plan. "We've talked about taking out loans from the bank and from several different banks because this is going to be a huge project, and we've talked about using state historical tax credits to help pay with some of that," said Lawrence.

While the Library Board has agreed to sign the new lease, the Safari Museum has not yet made a decision, and they plan to convene again to discuss the matter further. It's important to note that this ongoing discussion is not on the agenda for the city's Monday meeting.

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