STORY — Slowly but surely, the expansion of the Story Branch Library is moving forward, Story Community Library Inc. board chair Marc Strahn said.
Ultimately, the progress may be a little too slow for construction to begin as planned this summer, Strahn said. But he’s taking comfort in the project’s forward movement in fundraising and recently receiving a necessary variance for the project.
“In the beginning (in 2018), I think everybody involved with the project wondered if we were going to be able to do what we wanted to do,” Strahn said. “But here we are nearly four years later, and I think people are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. All the pieces are falling into place.”
The 40-by-45-foot library expansion will provide space for an expanded meeting room, more computer access and an expanded children’s area.
The library will expand onto property donated by Gary and Christine Roberts to Story Community Library Inc., Story’s nonprofit holding company for the library, in August 2018. The addition, once completed, will be gifted from the holding company to the library.
To date, the holding company raised $386,473 in donations from private donors and local foundations. There are also roughly $50,000 in pledges that have not been collected yet, Strahn said. A fundraising event — the Great Story Birdhouse Bonanza and BBQ — is scheduled for this summer.
In addition, the Joe and Arlene Watt Foundation pledged a match of $150,000 raised between Oct. 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, Strahn said. Since October, $128,220 has been raised.
The cost of the project originally estimated around $550,000, but increased to as much as $700,000 due to increased material costs related to supply chain issues, Strahn said.
For a project in its fourth year, fundraising efforts remain surprisingly robust, Strahn said. Donations have increased each year since the project’s inception, Strahn said, and 70% of last year’s donations were from first-time donors.
“We still have tremendous life in the project because the community is continually growing,” Strahn said.
The project is moving forward in other ways as well, Strahn said. During the Feb. 15 Sheridan County Commission meeting, Story Community Library Inc. was granted two requests. The first was for a variance from the minimum lot area zoning standards.
This variance permitted splitting the parcel donated by the Roberts family, with 0.18 acres going to the Sheridan County library system for the library expansion and the remaining 0.23 acres staying with Story Community Library Inc., Sheridan County Planner Mark Reid said. Strahn said the holding company had the option of selling off the latter property to raise further dollars for the library project if needed.
“The goal with this (variance)… is that we want to either sell the property with the house or leave it available for rental,” Sheridan County Library System Director Cameron Duff told the commission. “We don’t want to lessen the amount of available housing in Story. So this will allow us to bring in an 1,800-square-foot addition (to the library) and still be able to have additional housing for the community itself….I’m looking at this as a win-win, not only for the community in terms of housing, but in the ability to expand that library.”
The commission also approved a request from Story Community Library Inc. to be exempted from all county fees associated with the library expansion, including the variance application fees and upcoming conditional use and building permit fees. The exemption will help reduce the cost of an already pricy project, Strahn said.
Strahn said he is heartened by the progress made on the project even if the construction date is pushed into next year. And given the level of community support, he is sure the project will come into fruition soon.
“Some people are saying libraries are a thing of the past as technology continues to evolve,” Strahn said. “That is simply not the case in Story. Our library is critical to our community, and we have had so many people donate in order to make this project a reality.”
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February 23, 2022 at 03:00PM
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