September 1, 2021

Dear Library Donor:

Thank you for your continued support of the Moore Public Library’s building project.  Here is an update on where we are at.

We continue raising funds.  In June, we participated in “Give Where You Live” through the Sanilac County Community Foundation and received some of our pledged monies plus other donations to a tune of $21,794.69, earning us $6,760.00 in a “matching piece of the pie” money for a total of $28,497.94.  This brings our total donations up to $313,764 with an additional $73,242 pledged.  

Planning to begin construction last spring, in March, we solicited bids for finishing the first floor and courtyard patio and making the second floor useable for a community room.  However, with the cost of building materials skyrocketing, the bids came in much higher than anticipated, and we needed a $200,000 loan just to complete that and our local banks were hesitant to give us a loan with favorable terms.    

Our next step was to seek a low-interest loan from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Fund.  They were very encouraging but recommended we request a loan for the entire project.  In addition to our donations, we need a loan of  $875,000 to finish the project.  Mike Magee, the president of the library board is diligently leading this charge and has submitted the preliminary application.

Besides a boatload of forms, including a narrative and information from our architect, the USDA requires a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) consultation for the final application.  Using a recommendation from Stacy Fox, the consultant who worked on the Cadillac project is also doing this for us.  Kristine M. Kidorf visited the library and annex a couple of weeks ago and will finalize her report in September. 

Once the loan has been secured, our architect will bid out the whole project.  We expect to see a decrease in the cost of materials and look forward to finally starting construction! 

Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. 

Sincerely,

Beth Schumacher                                Liz Jackson

Library Director                                  Campaign Chairperson