The future of the proposed Imagination Center is uncertain amid budget concerns.
The Imagination Center is a library, park pavilion and community facility planned for Reindahl Park on the city’s east side and would be the first library branch inside a Madison park.
On Aug. 27, the Sandburg Area Neighborhood Association, Ald. Sabrina Madison, and representatives from the library and mayor hosted an online town hall to answer questions about the Imagination Center and provide a status update.
The library would be an indoor-outdoor community space functioning like other library branches around the city. The library would host free and open events for the public, such as story times or educational sessions about Madison; provide information literacy; offer access to voting and bus information; and have an eye on diversity and inclusion.
The neighborhood by Reindahl Park has grown by 19% over the past decade, according to a handout provided at the town hall. About 41% of the neighborhood’s population are people of color and 39% are renters who are cost-burdened.
Madison and neighborhood association representative Kate Pinkston said the need for the center is clear. The center has been in stages of planning for more than a decade.
“I’m sure it’s standing out to people how long a process this has been,” Pinkston said. “We don’t have a community center, no centralized gathering spot, no pavilion in our parks. The mall, which used to be a draw for the area, and the restaurants around it are declining rapidly and becoming almost a wasteland.”
Pinkston said the lack of resources in the neighborhood is an equity issue.
“I feel the city has neglected on all accounts to provide us with resources and mitigate the challenges we have been experiencing,” Pinkston said. “It feels to me almost like we are on an island here. It is not easy to access libraries or grocery stores. It’s not safe to cross the major thoroughfares in our area.”
Madison Library Executive Director Tana Elias agreed.
“We at the library feel this is an equity issue and the Imagination Center can help level the playing field. This will create services for all residents in that area,” Elias said.
More than 50 people attended the town hall and nearly all of the residents who spoke or asked questions were in favor of the Imagination Center.
“We need spaces for young people,” said Jeremiah Covington, a community resource coordinator with the Madison school district. “We don’t have common spaces to take the kids to.”
Facing a projected budget deficit next year, Madison’s City Council voted Aug. 20 to place a $22 million property tax referendum on November’s ballot. Approximately 71% of the city’s operating budget is funded by property taxes.
“If the referendum doesn’t pass and the library sees reductions, we don’t know what those reductions will be,” Elias said. “If reductions are happening, it is even harder to advocate for a new service. It would basically be like a 10% cut to advocate for this moving forward.”
Funding for the Imagination Center would draw from two separate pots of city money. One is the capital budget, which funds construction of buildings. About $18.6 million in capital funds have been allocated to the Imagination Center. The other pot is the operational budget, which pays for staff salaries, contracts with community providers and supplies.
The Imagination Center is in the final stages of design with construction planned to begin in Spring 2025 and opening in Fall 2026.
Passage of the November tax referendum is one key to ensuring the center’s future but not the only option, according to Elias. The library could cut other services to fund the Imagination Center.
Elias said the library is determined to launch the Imagination Center regardless of whether the referendum passes. Library leaders plan to meet in September to discuss options if voters reject the referendum.
"I think it’s important to recognize the uniqueness of the Imagination Center compared to other pavilions or libraries," said CJ Ryan, assistant superintendent of Madison Parks. "There’s a unique opportunity here that’s really fantastic."
