Mon-Thurs 9-7 | Fri 9-5 | Sat 9-12

Renovations Updates

Update10/24/25 Public Notice of Bid Results

On behalf of the Town of Mercer, the Mercer Public Library Board of Trustees announces that the bid for renovations for the Mercer Public Library has been awarded to KSW Construction Corporation, 146 N. Brown Street, Rhineland, WI 54501. The bid was accepted by the Town of Mercer during the regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors on October 9, 2025 for a total of $94,415.

Portions of the project will be funded by the State of Wisconsin, Flexible Facilities Program (FFP) [a U.S. Department of Treasury Capital Projects Fund (CPF) assisted program] and by private donations.

Update 7/16/25 Addendum to Advertisement for Bids, Town of Mercer, (FFP 24-19)

Addendum #1: Requests for additional information including photos of wood floor repairs, floorplan for Library, and answers to questions.

Update 7/16/25: Many of the projects for the renovations at the Library are out for another round of bids. The bid cycle is set to close on August 14 and we’re diligently working to keep the project moving forward. Some of our biggest renovations depend on completing some of the projects in this bid, including the purchase and installation of the meeting room pods.

Until this bid process is complete and we’re able to move forward with the contractor(s), we aren’t able to set a specific date for renovations. I’m still expecting closures to occur later this year or early next. We’re very aware of the impact that closing the Library will have on the community; the Library Board and I will do everything possible to minimize the impact and we will keep everyone informed well in advance. As always, I will keep you updated as I have more information and as we make progress through portions of the project.

 

Update 7/10/25 Advertisement for Bids, Town of Mercer, (FFP 24-19)

Separate sealed bids for the Town of Mercer – Mercer Public Library Renovation will be received by the Town of Mercer/Mercer Public Library on Thursday August 14, 2025 until 5:00 PM and then publicly opened and read aloud at this date and time. Bids shall be delivered to the Mercer Public Library by email ([email protected]) or physical delivery to the Mercer Public Library, 2648W Margaret Street, Mercer, WI 54547.

To see the complete advertisement for bids, click here.

To see the complete Request for Proposal, click here.

Terms of the FFP grant funded projects can be found here.

Update 5/28/25 Extension on Bid (FFP 24-19) due date

The deadline to submit bids for the Town of Mercer, Mercer Public Library Renovation has been extended to Thursday June 19 at 5:00pm. Bids will be unsealed at a meeting of the Town Board on Thursday June 19 at 5:30pm.

Updated 5/13/25 Advertisement for Bids, Town of Mercer, FFP 24-19

Separate sealed bids for the Town of Mercer – Mercer Public Library Renovation will be received by the Town of Mercer/Mercer Public Library on Friday May 30, 2025 until 5:00 PM and then publicly opened and read aloud at this date and time. Bids shall be delivered to the Mercer Public Library by email ([email protected]) or physical delivery to the Mercer Public Library, 2648W Margaret Street, Mercer, WI 54547.

To see the complete advertisement for bids, click here.

To see the complete Request for Proposal, click here.

Terms of the FFP grant funded projects can be found here.

Updated 5/9/25: Since our last update, we’re continuing to make progress on the renovation, though it might not be at the speed that we’d hoped for originally. At a special meeting of the Library Board, a recommendation was made for the Town to move forward with granting a contract to Restored Electric for the completion of the local area network (LAN). The remaining projects will be rebid with additional specifications to ensure we are receiving the best bid options available.

Our latest addition comes in some new chairs purchased through Northwoods Accents that were delivered last week. With funding support from the Friends of the Library, we’ve been able to replace the majority of our soft seating while keeping the same comfortable, cozy feel we all love about the library. The Library is committed to buying local whenever possible and this project has given us a chance to support one of our Mercer businesses. We are proud and excited to have this opportunity to work with Mike at Northwoods Accents.

We’re still anticipating that the bulk of the work will occur later this year, but we will keep everyone updated as timetables are set and work is scheduled. I want to thank everyone for your continued patience as we’ve worked through these renovations.

If you haven’t had the opportunity, please take some time to visit the library and enjoy the mural painted by Art by Natalie Watland. Our new conferencing equipment, funded by the FFP grant, in the meeting room as been working out phenomenally since install not too long ago.

There is still more work to do and furniture to move, but we’re celebrating every success and completion in this project. Thank you all for your support and excitement through every phase we’ve moved through.

Advertisement for Bids, Town of Mercer, FFP 24-19

Separate sealed bids for the Town of Mercer – Mercer Public Library Renovation will be received by the Town of Mercer/Mercer Public Library on Thursday April 10, 2025 until 5:30 PM and then publicly opened and read aloud at this date and time. Bids shall be delivered to the Mercer Public Library by email ([email protected]) or physical delivery to the Mercer Public Library, 2648W Margaret Street, Mercer, WI 54547.

To see the complete advertisement for bids, click here.

To see the complete project specifications, click here.

Terms of the FFP grant funded projects can be found here.

Update 3/18/25: We have good news to share. We’ve been able to complete and submit for publication a bid packet for the work to complete at the Library. With the grant agreement in place, we can begin to purchase and put into place different parts of the upcoming renovations. Of note, we are not anticipating a closure of the library until late 2025, early 2026. But that doesn’t mean you won’t start to see some changes at the Library.

  • Miss Marge’s Room:
    • A mural by Art by Natalie Watland will begin on April 7 and should be completed by April 18. The mural will focus on connecting the inside to the outdoors and will highlight our native plants and animals.
    • New furniture in the kids room has started to arrive ahead of the mural to help us prepare and see some changes.
  • New furniture
    • We’ve purchased some new furniture for the Library from Northwoods Accents in Mercer. We’re incredibly excited to partner with them and highlight some of the incredible businesses in our community.
  • Collection reshelving
    • If you’ve stopped in the Library in the last few weeks, you’ll have seen the work we’re doing to reshelve the current collection of nonfiction and audiobooks to make space for the meeting room pods that will come in later in the renovation. We’re working to update the endcap labels throughout to reflect these changes.

Update 2/12/25: We anxiously continue to wait for the grant agreement; unfortunately we cannot take any action on grant projects until this agreement is in place. We are continuing to prepare ourselves as best as possible so we’re ready to hit the ground running as soon as we can.

We are planning on some other building renovations that are not a part of the grant, but are needed updates. We don’t expect these projects to impact the library’s operations. Thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library, we will be moving forward with some improvements to Miss Marge’s Room (the kids’ room) and repairs to the wood flooring in the office, meeting, and kids rooms.

If you stop in over the next few weeks, you’ll begin to see some other changes in preparation for the renovation. Our collection is moving around and we’re planning on moving furniture to begin clearing space ahead of any closure. If you come in and you’re having trouble locating items, let us know and we can get you to the right place.

Please know that as soon as I have any updates, I will be sharing the news with everyone through newsletters, social media, and press releases. I am as anxious as all of you to start this process and get things underway.

Update 2/4/2025: Given the many questions we’re asked, I decided to add a section on the construction update to this month’s newsletter to keep everyone informed on what’s going on. Here’s where we are as of today.

Right now, we are waiting for the grant agreement before any plans and action can take place. As of today, we have not received an indication of when the grant agreement will be completed and ready for signature. In an abundance of preparation, Trustees from the Library Board and the Town Board met in late-January to review a draft copy and the Town Board approved for Eric Snow to sign the agreement once received (assuming there are no changes from the draft).

We are currently working to put plans in place so once the grant agreement is received and signed we can hit the ground running. I am constantly working to see what contracts need to be put in place first so that we can schedule construction and minimize how long we will need to close to the public (and preparing for the little details like how many boxes we’ll need and where to store the collection).

Please know that as soon as I have any updates, I will be sending updates to everyone through newsletters, social media, and press releases. I am as anxious as all of you to start this process and get things underway. If you’re interested in hearing more about the upcoming renovations, please join me tomorrow (February 5) at 10am at the Mercer Senior Center for their Midweek Mingle & Listen where I’ll talk about the planned renovations and much more!