Colfax Municipal Building “wish list” for Flexible Facilities grant includes basement kitchen and lift for stage
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Editor’s Note: LeAnn R. Ralph serves on the Colfax Elevator Commission
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Now that the Colfax Village Board has selected Ayres Associates to write the application for the Flexible Facilities grant, the Colfax Elevator Commission has come up with a “wish list” for the building.
The Flexible Facilities Program would provide up to $4.25 million in grant funding that does not require local matching funds.
The wish list, in addition to an elevator to serve all three floors of the building and bathrooms on all floors, includes other improvements for all three floors, ranging from a kitchen in the basement to a lift for the stage in the auditorium to allow performers with disabilities to access the stage.
The cost for the grant application is $5,700, and the elevator commission has gathered donations and pledges totaling nearly $150,000.
The money is kept by the village in a restricted fund that cannot be used for anything else other than what is referred to as the “elevator project.”
The cost for the grant application will be paid by the elevator fund.
Basement
One of the ideas for the basement is to remove the pillars that have been installed as supports for the ceiling to reinforce the first floor against the weight of the books in the Colfax Public Library directly overhead.
The pillars could perhaps be replaced with an arch that could support the ceiling rather than the metal pillars.
The main open area in the basement is envisioned as a large public meeting room with open programming space.
Moveable partitions could be used to create meeting rooms as needed.
The large public meeting room could be equipped with folding chairs and tables to accommodate various groups, clubs, classes and luncheons.
A combination of shelves and storage cabinets along the wall could be used as storage for the library and perhaps for some of the groups or clubs that regularly use the room as a meeting space.
The mural along the west wall should be preserved.
As a side note, if anyone has information about who painted the mural and/or when it was painted, please contact the Colfax Messenger at 715-962-3535 or LeAnn at 715-308-6336.
Part of the basement also could include a memorial wall to recognize donors and memorials.
In addition, the basement should have a water fountain.
Children’s corner
The southeast corner of the basement directly under the children’s area upstairs in the library could be a play area for children.
The floor throughout the basement could be painted, but the children’s corner could perhaps have carpeting or a rug.
Children’s play equipment would be the centerpiece for that area.
Lounge chair seating near the children’s corner could be organized as a “conversation area” so that parents can sit near where their children are playing and can also converse with each other.
Sandstone
The south wall of the basement is currently exposed sandstone.
The idea is to not have the sandstone covered up, but rather sealed or preserved in some way so that there is a natural sandstone wall in the basement.
The south wall also has window wells outside that were filled in, and windows that were boarded up in the past to help keep water out of the basement and for energy efficiency.
The drainage has been improved around the outside of the building, and while additional drainage work might be necessary, if water can be kept out of the basement, it would be desirable to open up the windows again downstairs for natural lighting in addition to ambiance and/or task lighting.
Other equipment in the basement could include a dehumidifier, security cameras and drains with sump pumps.
Tele-health
One of the requirements for the Flexible Facilities Program is internet access.
The minimum criteria for the Flexible Facilities grant is that the project must include constructing a new or renovating or expanding an existing library, community center or multi-purpose community facility, and the purchase and/or installation of broadband and/or other digital connectivity technology that provide public access to high speed internet, and directly enable work, education and health monitoring, according www.energyandhousing.wi.gov.
The work in the basement could include using the rooms on the north side of the basement for meeting and tele-health space as well as storage space for the library and the Colfax Municipal Building Restoration Group.
The meeting space and tele-health space would include the former kitchen area.
The tele-health rooms would have computers and internet access and would allow people to conduct tele-health sessions in privacy.
With the lack of a clinic in Colfax for almost the past decade, and the closure of two hospitals and 19 clinics in the Chippewa Valley earlier this year, access to tele-health may be more important than ever.
The meeting rooms also would have internet access and computers with microphones, speaker and headphone options, along with screens for presentations.
Kitchen
The kitchen would be moved from the north side of the basement to the southwest corner of the basement where bathrooms were formerly located and would include a dishwasher, stove, refrigerator, cupboards, sink, microwave and counter.
In the past, before it was closed off to the public, the basement was used for Girl Scout, Brownie Scout, Cub Scout and Boy Scout meetings, for Colfax Woman’s Club library luncheons, as a meeting space for various 4-H Clubs, for athletic banquets or just about any kind of banquet you could think of, such as banquets for the Colfax Rod and Gun Club, as a meeting and practice place for the Dunn County Barbershoppers, for flower shows, for church bazaars and other fund raisers, and for Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas parties and dances — to name a few of the events.
New bathrooms would be installed near the elevator in the basement portion of the addition.
The Colfax Woman’s Club would have storage space near the elevator in the basement to make their preparations for Music in the Park on Thursday evenings easier.
First floor
The back and side entrances of the building would need direct and easy access to the main hallway in the municipal building.
Improving the back and side entrances would likely involve changing the location and/or configuration of the bathrooms and the village administrative offices and could require an addition to be constructed on the back of the building.
The Colfax Village Board has talked about moving the administrative offices and the police department to another location, so the offices should be redesigned with the idea that the space may at some point become meeting, computer or presentation rooms.
A lobby on the first floor by the elevator also is part of the wish list. The lobby could include a concession area for performances that are taking place upstairs in the auditorium.
The main hallway of the building could become part of the library’s space in order to expand the library’s book collection.
The hallway could include lounge chairs and a conversation area.
The heating and air conditioning units could be replaced and improved to serve the entire building.
Auditorium
Improvements to the auditorium could include a lift so that people with disabilities could access the stage.
A concession area could also be planned for the auditorium, and bathrooms would be part of the addition to accommodate the elevator.
With more storage space available in the basement for the Colfax Public Library, the Colfax History Room could expand to the room that is now used by the library for storage space.
The fire escape that leads down from the auditorium should also be replaced.
Accessibility
The elevator installed at the back of the building would provide accessibility to all three floors.
An elevator would help performers to more easily haul equipment to the auditorium for performances (everything now must be carried up two flights of stairs).
And an elevator to the auditorium would make it more accessible to the elderly, to people with disabilities — and for everyone else as well.
Automated doors for all entrances to the building would also make it more accessible for everyone.
If it is possible to automate the wooden doors at the front of the building so they can still be part of the historic nature of the building, that would be ideal.
A lift from the ground floor entrance at the front of the building to the main floor of the building where the library is located also would be highly desirable, which would make the entire building more accessible, instead of accessible only at the back entrance.
Accessible, marked public parking in the back of the building by the elevator entrance would also enhance accessibility to the building.
The curb at the front of the building could also use improvements for better accessibility to the building.
The applications for the Flexible Facilities Program grant are due no later than 2 p.m. July 11, 2024.
Awards of the grants are anticipated to be made no later than October 1, 2024.
