A plan to purchase land from the First United Methodist Church for use as a library parking lot has been approved by the New Ulm City Council.

Cost of the land has been set at $72,000.

“DESPITE WHAT you’ve seen in print,” said William Gafford, city council president, “we’ve never lost contact or stopped negotiating with these people.”

A figure of $75,898.25 as the city’s payment for the property had been set in July of 1974 by district court commissioners. A committee consisting of Gafford, City Atty. Terence Dempsey and City Manager Richard Salvati had negotiated for the city with church trustees and both sides agreed on the $72,000 figure.

Salvati said at the city council meeting last night that $56,900 of the total amount already has been paid to the Methodist Church.

“I THINK this is a reasonable compromise on both sides,” Salvati said.

Dempsey said the agreement had not yet been signed, but added that there was no question that it would be signed, according to what church trustees had told him.

In addition to the $72,000 payment to the church, the agreement calls for the church to provide without cost, easements needed

by the City of New Ulm to construct the library parking lot, and calls for the city to allow the Methodist Church non-transferable zoning credit for 20 parking spaces in the event the church would expand on its present site.

Prior to the agreement with the church, the case appeared to be headed for District Court, with Dempsey preparing an appeal of the $75,898.25 figure set by commissioners.

IN ANOTHER action Tuesday evening, the City Council approved 7:30 p.m. Tuesday,March 4, as the time when bids would be opened for library furnishings.

Total cost of providing furnishings has been estimated at $96,166 by Freerks, Sperl, Flynn Architects of St. Paul, architects for the library.

Salvati said about half of the cost is expected to be for shelving and carpeting in the library addition. Old shelving, now in the existing library, will be used in workroom and storage areas.

New shelving will bring the library to about 50 per cent of its new capacity or about 60,000 books. The existing library has about 47,000 books.

Work on parking lot improvements is scheduled to begin early this spring. The entire library project is expected to be completed, with a finished interior, by August.

New Ulm Daily Journal

Feb. 5, 1975