Submitted by Marshfield Library & Community Center Capital Campaign

MARSHFIELD — The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 31, at the corner of Maple Avenue and Veterans Parkway in Marshfield. The public is invited to attend.

The 30-minute event will include brief remarks by several speakers, including Mayor Chris Meyer; Lori Belongia, Marshfield Public Library director; Jean Swenson, president of the Marshfield Public Library Board of Trustees; Jean Doty, chair of the city’s Library and Community Center Committee, which has overseen the project since 2012; Bill Hocking, co-chair of the Building Connections Capital Campaign; and Amber Kiggens-Leifheit, executive director of the Marshfield Area Community Foundation, which has served as fiscal agent for the fundraising campaign.

Fundraising winds down, though donations still being accepted

The Building Connections Capital Campaign has raised $4.7 million to date, surpassing its initial goal of $4 million, which was set in 2012. In 2012 the Marshfield Common Council also committed $3 million for the project.

The campaign topped the $4 million mark last year due to an exceptional gift from Everett Roehl, founder of Roehl Transport of Marshfield. The new two-story library will be named the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library.

“However, even after that milestone was reached, new donations continue to come in, a testament to the community’s generosity and growing awareness and support for the project,” said Hocking. The campaign co-chairs decided to continue fundraising efforts into 2015 in order to more fully realize the vision and integration of the entire complex, he said.

“We are extremely grateful for the tremendous support we’ve received from the Marshfield community,” Hocking said.

“The active fundraising campaign is nearing its end,” said Hocking. “If you haven’t donated yet, now is the time.”

Donations of any amount will continue to be accepted after the campaign’s conclusion on Aug. 31, 2015. However, three-year pledges will be accepted only for gifts of $1,000 or more and must be completed by Aug. 31, 2018.

The campaign offers many giving options. For $100 per square foot, you can “Fund a Foot” of the new complex. For $1,500, you can honor a special person with an inscribed tile on the Tribute Wall to be located in the new entrance. For $5,000 or more, you can “name” an area within the complex. For a handful of spare change, you can help fill the donation container located in the library.

Gift envelopes are available at the library, the senior center, Main Street Marshfield, and Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Forms for Fund a Foot donations, pledges, and Tribute Wall tiles can be downloaded from the campaign’s website, mplcc.marshfieldlibrary.org.

All donations are used for capital expenditures for the complex and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

“We are very grateful for the support and expertise we’ve received from the Marshfield Area Community Foundation’s board of directors and Executive Director Amber Leifheit,” said Hocking.

The new facilities

Construction of the new library begins the complete transformation of the entire block into a multiuse complex that will include the new Marshfield Community Center, an enclosed entrance connecting the two buildings, new parking lots, gardens, and outdoor activity spaces.

The existing senior center building at 111 S. Maple Ave. will be removed. The senior center has been temporarily relocated to space at the Marshfield Mall.

After the new library opens, the former library building will be renovated to create the new Marshfield Community Center, which will offer activity and social spaces for senior citizens and adaptable meeting rooms for groups of all sizes.

In addition, the community center will house Marshfield’s Parks and Recreation Department, the local Aging and Disability Resource Center, and the Marshfield Center for History. Donations will not be used for the build-out costs for these three spaces.

The Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library will be a two-story, 35,000-square-foot building designed for the digital age. It will feature an array of computer and charging stations, state-of-the-art technology, expanded areas for children and teens, small study rooms, spacious reading areas on both floors, and a new Family History and Genealogy Center.

“One of our donors, Innovative Machine Specialists Inc. of Marshfield, uses the slogan ‘One Roof, Endless Possibilities.’ We think that concept perfectly describes the vision for the entire complex,” said Hocking. “The possibilities of what it can become are truly unlimited.”

The Boson Company Inc. of Marshfield is the project’s construction manager, and Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Milwaukee, is the architect.