WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- There could soon be big changes to Wauwatosa buildings, and city officials are asking for your input. On July 28, the Common Council will vote on one of four options to remodel the public library and City Hall. 

The building was built in 1957. Wauwatosa Public Library is one of the busiest in the state, with more than 1,000 visitors per day, according to Peter Loeffel, the library director. He said the library's popularity is only growing, as last year they had the highest circulation in its history.

Now, city leaders say it's time to start a new chapter with remodels.

"For the last 10 years, we've been looking at the space and we've been listening to the community. So we know what the public wants in the library. We know what other libraries have been able to offer their patrons. So it's a matter of just looking and listening to the community and what they're looking for their library to offer to the community." -- Peter Loeffel

The most basic fixes would come to the windows, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, which are included in the first option presented by the city. That would be the least expensive option, costing $8.30 per month for an average home of $418,800 for 20 years.

Option 1 of library and City Hall remodel City of Wauwatosa

In option two, at a cost to homeowners of $17.65, City Hall and the library would be remodeled, expanding the library, adding underground parking and windows, plus a plaza.

Option 2 of library and City Hall remodel City of Wauwatosa

The third option would move City Hall into the current library space, creating a new library, for a tax impact of $23.52. The oldest parts of the building would be removed, creating a larger two-story building with new rooms, security, and garden.

Option 3 of library and City Hall remodel City of Wauwatosa

In option four, with a new library and new City Hall, the tax impact would be $26.91 per month. City leaders say "options two, three, and four assume an all-electric, energy-efficient building and net zero with 100% of annual energy supplied by renewable energy. This is significant to the city’s sustainability goals."

Option 4 of library and City Hall remodel City of Wauwatosa

"When the library was first built, there were different standards that were used: higher shelves, inaccessible restrooms. They didn't have the spaces like a teen area. It's that evolution of the spaces that we really can't fit into the current facility," shared Loeffel. 

The teen space is something Tosa residents like Dina Washington and her boys would love to see. "I feel like if we have more spaces available for the youth, they will do better," she said. 

When it comes to the price though, Washington acknowledged the impact of inflation: "I am a strong advocate for, let's do what we can now to build a stronger future. I think to be realistic, somewhere in the middle ground would be most effective."

When discussing what changes they'd like to see in the library, Loeffell explained it's about hearing what the community communicated with them over the last decade and making an impact in the long-term.

"How can we make the library more accessible? Not just ADA compliant, but ADA friendly. We want to have lower shelves. It's more accessible. It allows for better security. We want to have adult changing rooms in our library for our restrooms for accessibility. We want to be able to have more study rooms and more meeting space because as libraries have evolved, the demand for those kind of spaces has gone up. We want to be able to have a true quiet reading area in our library, so that when you have the modern activity of a library, like computer usage and the other activities, people still have a quiet reading room. In the children's library, there's a lot of things we want to do. We want to be able to expand our early literacy play areas, so we can have children learn and explore through interactive play, we want to be able to take our collections and have more face-out shelving, so that instead of seeing the spines of all the books, they can really explore and look at titles. In the children's area, we don't have any study rooms - a place for tutors to work with students. We want to be able to have study rooms. We want to have a sensory room in the children's area. We have a wonderful story time room, but it is undersized, and we need a larger one that can accommodate the wide variety of programs that we do. We also want to be able to incorporate an outdoor space for children, a place that we can use for programming and for parents and children to use whenever the library is open," he said.

Loeffel noted they've been out at events in recent months to ensure the community has their input heard.

You can submit your feedback and learn more through this link.