The Independence County Library in Batesville will move to a historic downtown building four times the size of its existing facility at half the cost, under a deal that the new library board negotiated with city and county officials.
Library board Chairman Bill Walmsley said the library could move by early next year.
"We will have a good, solid, stable home for the next 20 years at least," he said.
The library has been in the city's old federal building on Main Street since 1978 and pays $62,500 a year to the county for the facility's use. Previous library board members had discussed moving in the past but never developed a plan to do so, Walmsley said.
Building a new library would cost $10 million to $12 million, he said.
Instead, the library will move into the Barnett Building, a 112-year-old, three-story structure that for decades housed a large department store.
Owners of the building donated it to the city about a year ago, said Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh. After about $100,000 in renovations, the building has been used for the city's downtown association.
Plans call for the county, which oversees the library's expenses, to pay the city $30,000 a year to use the building. Walmsley said the board will make a one-time $300,000 payment to the city for an additional 10 years.
The library has 5,000 square feet of space at the federal building. When it moves into the Barnett Building, it will have 21,000 square feet of space on the first and second floors. The city's downtown association will maintain the building's third floor for meeting spaces and banquets, and it will have an entrance separate from the library.
"This is a win-win situation," Walmsley said.
The lease deal between city and county officials also smooths tensions between the two entities that began brewing when Batesville sought to annex its neighboring Southside community. Residents there balked at that idea, saying they feared higher city taxes. With the assistance of county leaders, Southside incorporated as the state's 501st city.
City and county officials also clashed when Batesville wanted to create its own police department, after the county had provided law enforcement patrols for the city of 10,248 people for more than 30 years.
"This library lease is an illustration of what can happen when county and city officials work together," Walmsley said.
The library board has five members -- all of whom were appointed by the Independence County Quorum Court within the past two years after previous members either quit or their terms expired. That, Elumbaugh said, was vital in negotiating the new library lease.
"This group is proactive," the mayor said. "They made this work."
The board voted to remove the Independence County Library from the White River Regional Library system and hired a library director who holds a master's degree in library science from the University of Missouri.
It also plans to create a bookmobile program to deliver reading materials to other areas of Independence County.
Elumbaugh said the library will draw more people to the downtown area and create more tax revenue.
Two new restaurants have opened on Main Street, and the library will include a coffee shop once it moves into the Barnett Building.
A recent census of library activity indicated that about 140 people use the library each day. Officials expect that once the library moves, that number will increase to 400 or 500 a day.
The new library will include several meeting rooms and 10 computers for public use.
"Libraries give so much to the community," said Lynda Hampel, executive director of the Arkansas Library Association. "A nice visual effect is important. It helps its patrons be more relaxed, and when businesses consider relocating, a good library plays in those decisions."
She said the Heber Springs library recently moved from a small location to a much larger downtown building.
"The new library is much more visual," Hampel said. "It's brought more people to the downtown area."
Walmsley said the board will hire an architect to design needed renovations that could cost up to $1.5 million. Workers also will level a parking area to create about 50 spaces, he said.
"I think we will have one of the best libraries in the state when we open," Walmsley said. "Now, we have a dinosaur."
State Desk on 06/13/2016