MIDDLEBURY — Barring a surge in private donations and/or winning additional grants, Middlebury taxpayers could be asked to absorb a greater chunk of the $17 million Ilsley Library expansion-and-renovation project than was originally anticipated, according to town officials.

Nothing has been decided yet. Acting Middlebury Town Manager Tom Hanley said the picture will likely become clearer following a Jan. 7 selectboard meeting that will include fiscal year 2026 budget discussions.

“We’re around $1.5 million short (on the library project financing) right now,” Hanley told the Independent. “The fundraising and the requests for grants goes on.”

Middlebury residents in early May voted 956-200 in favor of the proposed major makeover of the Ilsley. It’s a project that’s slated to begin next spring and will largely involve removing the Ilsley’s 1977 and 1988 additions, while retaining and restoring the original 1924 building and equipping it with a new 8,000-square-foot, two-story addition on its northeast side.

A refurbished, 28,000-square-foot Ilsley is expected to be ready during the summer of 2026. It will boast double its current space for youth services, a new activity room, a new conference/flex room that would be accessible during and after library hours, a new early learning area, new spaces for high-schoolers and middle-schoolers, a new outdoor programming area, two additional small meeting rooms, a larger community meeting room, and redesigned adult reading rooms and gathering spaces.

Library leaders and town officials put together a plan to pay off the $17 million price tag. Among other things, it called for $2 million in grants, $500,000 in federal rebates, $4 million through the town’s local option tax surplus fund, and $4.5 million in gifts and pledges.

That financial gameplan took a hit in October when the Vermont Department of Libraries (VDL) didn’t approve Ilsley’s request for a $1.5 million grant comprised of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds. That forced the Ilsley Library to ratchet up its fundraising goal from $4.5 million to $6 million. The fundraising harvest currently stands at $5,072,000, with the effort recently getting a nice assist in the form of a $1 million pledge from Middlebury College.

But with construction slated to begin this spring, Ilsley project financing is still lagging, Hanley reiterated.

Ilsley Library Director Dana Hart acknowledged the new funding challenge.

“Yes, due to the library project unfortunately not receiving any grant award funding from the VDL’s recent allocation, there is the possibility of (a) shortfall,” she stated through an email exchange.

Hart stressed that Isley officials will leave no stone unturned in their search for ways to limit — or even negate — the need for any additional taxpayer commitment to the project.

She specifically pointed to three grant applications, submitted to the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation ($25,000), the Hoehl Foundation ($25,000), and a Libraries Transform Communities ($20,000).

“In the spring, we will submit a $500,000 Congressionally Directed Spending request for the Save America’s Treasurers program, and a Walter Cerf grant application for $25,000,” Hart added. “We also intend to apply for the next round of capital improvement grant funding from the Vermont Department of Libraries. Grant details have not yet been made available, so I am not sure what amount we will be able to apply for, but I do know that the department has $10 million to give away in this round of funding. We will likely not know the outcomes of those grant applications until the summer or fall.”

The selectboard will review all available options, including weighing the use of additional local option tax (LOT) surplus. Middlebury launched its local option tax in 2008 to help pay off debt on the $16 million Cross Street Bridge. The 1% taxes on rooms, meals, sales and alcohol has been generating more than $1 million annually, substantially more than is needed for debt service and maintenance of the span. As of last week, the LOT surplus fund stood at around $1.4 million, according to Hanley.

Middlebury College has also been contributing $600,000 annually to help draw down the 30-year bridge bond.

Town officials have been using some of the LOT surplus each year (with voter approval) to help cover capital improvements, thereby lessening the burden on local taxpayers.

Ultimately, voters gave the town permission to bond up to $17 million for the Ilsley renovation. But officials stressed voters would be consulted if their portion of the total needs to be raised.

An interruption in the construction to search for more money would raise project costs by around $300,000 for every six months of postponement, officials noted.

“The board is committed to getting this project off the ground on time,” Hanley said.

John Flowers is at [email protected].