Webster Groves Library To Replace Costly Heating & Cooling System
Date Posted: January 22, 2026
Posted In: Projects,
From Webster-Kirkwood Times: If recent visitors to the Webster Groves Public Library experienced a cold shoulder, they shouldn’t take it personally. The heating system at the library has been running at half capacity for the past several weeks.
The good news? Help is on the way.
The library recently signed a roughly $500,000 contract with Hoffmann Brothers to replace its heating and air conditioning system after three years of making minor repairs that proved to be insufficient. The new system is expected to be up and running by April.
The HVAC woes are part of larger issues at the library, including the need to replace a leaky roof, and a looming revenue issue that might force the facility to approach taxpayers for help.
The original portion of the library celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.
It hosts about 100,000 visitors each year, and provides a variety of services from loaning books and reference materials to sponsoring events and specialized programs for visitors of all ages.
Financial Condition
The Webster Groves Public Library’s operating budget for the current fiscal year — July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026 — is $1.4 million. The library has also $522,000 budgeted for debt service during this same period. Together, these amounts bring the total budgeted expenditures for the year to a little more than $1.9 million.
The main source of revenue for the library is local property taxes — about $1.78 million last fiscal year. Other sources are counter receipts, state aid, grants, printing and copies, passports and support from the Friends of the Library, bringing projected revenue for this fiscal year to $1.95 million.