The future of the planned Imagination Center is uncertain due to 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 in a park in Madison.
On Tuesday, the Sandburg Area Neighborhood Association, Ald. Sabrina Madison, and representatives from the library and the mayor hosted an online town hall meeting to answer questions about the Imagination Center and provide a status update.
The library would be an indoor-outdoor community space that functions like other library branches in the city. The library would host free and open events for the public, such as story times or educational sessions about Madison; it would teach information literacy classes, provide access to voting and busing information, and have an eye toward diversity and inclusion.
The Reindahl Park neighborhood has grown 19 percent in the past decade, according to a fact sheet distributed at City Hall. About 41 percent of the neighborhood’s population is people of color and 39 percent are renters who face high rent costs.
Madison and neighborhood association representative Kate Pinkston said the need for the center is clear, and the center has been in the planning stages for more than a decade.
“I’m sure people are noticing how long this process has taken,” Pinkston said. “We have no community center, no central gathering place, no gazebo in our parks. The shopping center that used to be an attraction for the area and the restaurants in the area are rapidly deteriorating and becoming almost a wasteland.”
Pinkston said the lack of resources in the neighborhood is an equity issue.
“I feel like the city has failed in every way to provide us with resources and mitigate the challenges we face,” Pinkston said. “To me, it almost feels like we’re on an island here. There’s no easy access to libraries or grocery stores. It’s not safe to cross the major roads in our area.”
Tana Elias, executive director of the Madison Library, agreed.
“We at the library believe that this is an equity issue and the Imagination Center can help level the playing field, providing services for all residents in this area,” Elias said.
More than 50 people attended the town hall meeting and almost all citizens who spoke or asked questions spoke in favor of the Imagination Center.
“We need spaces for young people,” said Jeremiah Covington, a community resource coordinator in the Madison school district. “We don’t have community spaces to bring the kids to.”
Facing a projected budget deficit next year, the Madison City Council voted on Aug. 20 to vote on a $22 million property tax bill in November. About 71 percent of the city’s budget is funded by property taxes.
“If the referendum doesn’t pass and the library gets cuts, we don’t know what those cuts will be,” Elias said. “If there are cuts, it’s even harder to advocate for a new service. It would basically be like a 10% cut to advocate for the future.”
Funding for the Imagination Center would come from two different pots of city funds. One is the capital budget, which funds the construction of buildings. The Imagination Center has been allocated approximately $18.6 million in capital funds. The other pot is the operating budget, which funds employee salaries, contracts with municipal vendors, and supplies.
The Imagination Center is in the final planning phase. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2025 and open in fall 2026.
Passing the tax referendum in November is key to securing the center’s future, but it’s not the only option, according to Elias. The library could cut other services to fund the Imagination Center.
Elias said the library is committed to opening 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, Madison Parks’ deputy superintendent. “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here that’s really amazing.”
Nicholas Garton joined Cap Times in 2019 after spending three years as a feature writer for Madison365. He was also sports editor of Madison College’s newspaper, The Clarion. He writes about development, neighborhoods, business and racial issues.
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