Lee County government officials met with an architecture firm and local contractor this week to kickoff plans for a new library project in Sanford. Plans call for a 30,000-square-foot facility near O.T. Sloan Park.
According to a county press release, thee group will be in the “program and planning” over the next 45 days, gathering information to develop a schematic design. That design then will go before the board of commissioners for approval. The program and planning phase will include opportunities for public and stakeholder input.
“We are asking the public to actively participate in the process by providing input during this phase,” the county’s press release read. “In the coming weeks, the group will meet with key stakeholders and develop a survey for residents to provide feedback about the design for the new library. We encourage the public to participate in the survey and will share more information about it next week.”
Residents can visit the current main library branch at 107 Hawkins Avenue to talk to library staff about what they like about the library and what they would like to see in a new facility.
For more information about the project, or to provide feedback, visit the library’s main branch or call (919) 718-4665.
I understand they may want more space but to move to that area seems kind of ridiculous. That would move them out of an area with better access for individuals and families. So what are the underlying plans for the current location if the library moves? I am sorry to sound so skeptical about things but with the way our city council has done business for the last few years it just makes me wonder.
The County Builds Libraries not the City
Moving the library to that area is a…. not smart idea. Who comes up with this stuff? The library needs to stay in the area it’s in. Moving the library from its current location would remove access for numerous families who currently walk there. Of course no one thinks about the negative impact this would have on the community!!! Leave our library where it is!
The County already has land in that location and it is near to LCSH and CCCC.
I agree the library should stay where it is , It is in a convenient location for lots of people .
The current location of the LEE COUNTY Library sucks for most people in the County. It’s not the geographic or population center of the County. It is a vestige of the times before Jonesboro and Sanford merged and when Jonesboro had its own Library. Now I would not put it on the Jonesboro Fault next to Little Buffloe Creek Floodway and the CSX, but that’s me.
However, if that is the choice, some access improvements from the Third Street, Senior Center side need to be made so that you can get there off Third Street. (Thats a bridge over the Creek, Floodway and RR Tracks. No one will want to pay for that so ease of access will move toward folks in Broadway, down toward Trace, and Jonesboro to detriment of those on Hawkins Avenue.
However the old Library can become a community center, a police substation, or something else through a trade with the City.
Just fighting the move will not help you with the County.
In an ideal world the City and County would clear Pearl and Waddel Streets and build it there and when it’s time to build a new police station, build it there.
So disappointing to read that the library will leave downtown. County commissioners need to better support retail with public projects that bring folks downtown. Government services should be walkable with sufficient parking. There is no walkability score for leaving downtown. The Feds made a mistake with locating the new Social Security building.
Will they maintain a new building are allow it to become a mess like the old one. Asking for a friend.
Several questions come up when thinking about a new library. The old library cannot accommodate school buses. Parking spills over into 1st Presbyterian parking lot when conference rooms are used. But how often are those rooms used? What is the current physical condition; this building is over 30 years old.
However, library patronage is less across the country due to computers. There are online books and periodicals. You can do research via the internet in the comfort of your home..
In the past libraries were relevant, I am not sure that spending public funds will change how Lee County residents will use the library regardless of location in the future.