Vernon Township Public Library Board of Trustees chose the site plan located in Fortville to house the new library building in the years to come. Officals from each town attended the meeting to hear the vote.
VERNON TOWNSHIP — In a unanimous vote, the Vernon Township Public Library Board of Trustees chose the site plan located in Fortville to house the new library building in the years to come.
A process that included the public’s input will officially move on to the next steps, which includes getting together with professionals who will advise and help on how to pursue bond(s) for the new library according to Vernon Township Public Library director Melissa Loiselle.
“We do have to get bond approval from McCordsville Town Council and the County Council, so making sure we have time to educate them on the project and answer any questions they have, address any concerns that they have,” Loiselle said. “So that when we do ask for it — hopefully we get approval — but just making sure they have all the information they need in order to feel comfortable voting.”
At the meeting, board president Julie Wilson read a statement from the board to the public who attended — including officials from Fortville and McCordsville — saying that as they came toward the end of the decision making process, they wanted to thank everyone involved.
From the statement, Wilson read that “Over the past two years, each of us on the board has endeavored to learn, listen and examine the needs of our community. We have determined that our current facility does not meet those needs and a new location is needed… We each have the best interest of Vernon Township at heart and will vote our own conscience. We are choosing the option that will balance financial prudence, location and potential for future growth to bring the best possible services to our community in a timely manner.”
Design plans by krM Architecture show that the new library will be located just west to the Vernon Township Fire Station 431, and will be an expansion off the Vernon Township Board of Trustees current building, approximately adding 14,000 feet on a 2.5 acre site. It will also allow for more parking to be available and greenery in the future.
The Fortville site location is in a TIF district and could possibly use TIF funds to help with infrastructure costs.
With the Fortville site plan being chosen, the recently proposed express library would look to be added in McCordsville, with a specific location yet to be determined.
The express library proposal came to fruition when Wilson brought up the idea to Loiselle, and after talking to the director of an express library in Colorado, the idea seemed like a possibility. The express library would plan to include a popular collection of materials for all ages and transport library holds, offer free Wi-Fi, public computers, copying, printing and faxing.
“It felt like we could do our financial savings by locating at the Trustees office, but also provide services to McCordsville with the future of growing there potentially as the population grows,” Wilson said.
Wilson mentioned she was thankful for the community interest and support for a new library.
Another agenda item voted on at the meeting Tuesday night was the color scheme for the library’s new logo. After being presented with the new color schemes and some back and forth on whether to vote that night or not, the board officially voted on and approved the new color scheme.
After the meeting adjourned, Loiselle said that it was very important for them to examine the needs of the community, and while she didn’t have a say in the vote, she’s happy to be able to move on with the process.
“We have two towns in one township and that’s pretty unique, “ Loiselle said. “As we went through the process we learned a lot, looked at a lot of sites… Honestly, my opinion in the end all along was to find the location where we can best serve the community.”
