Ground to be broken for long-awaited new Monett Library
July 7
Sheila Harris
Construction is slated to begin the first week in August, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m., August 24, on a long-awaited new Monett library branch. Initiation of the project was made possible after Barry-Lawrence Regional Library District’s Board of Trustees approved the sale of $6 million in Lease Certificates of Participation at its May 20 meeting.
According to library director, Gina Milburn, the certificates, sold through the library’s municipal bond underwriter, L.J. Hart & Company of St. Louis, were snapped up within a two-week period by local individuals and financial institutions, including Security Bank of Southwest Missouri, First State Bank of Purdy, Mid-Missouri Bank and Central Trust Bank, plus individuals who assumed over $2 million of the certificates. The sales paved the way for construction on the new, 20,000-square-foot facility to begin.
“We’re really excited,” Milburn said.
The two-acre site for the proposed new building is located on the northeast corner of the junction of Park Street and Old Airport Road in Monett, a property acquired from a generous donor almost 20 years ago.
According to Milburn, the new facility will more than triple the existing library’s footprint and feature amenities to serve a variety of purposes, including separate reading/study areas for children, teens and adults; four individual study rooms; a large conference room; a smaller meeting room with a full kitchen; an indoor lounge with a coffee bar; an outdoor patio; and a drive-through service to pick up pre-ordered materials.
“The individual study rooms will seat two,” Milburn said, “and can be used for tutoring, recruiting, and tax preparation assistance. The small meeting room with a kitchen can be used for food demos, maybe a canning demo by the extension office, for example.”
Milburn added that plenty of televisions will be available, as will video cameras and computers.
Plans for the new library have been a long time in the works.
“Ground-breaking was originally planned for sometime in 2009 or 2010, Milburn said, “but a necessary tax levy was rolled back, so plans were put on hold.”
Milburn emphasizes that the passage of the operating expense levy in the June, 2020, election is not paying for the construction of the new facility.
“Rather,” she said, “it allowed us to get financing for it. A portion of the 7 cent operating levy approved by voters in 2020 will serve as the revenue source for the repayment,” Milburn said.
Milburn was pleased to see the lease certificates sold within the community.
“The community will also benefit,” she said, “from much of the R.E. Smith contracted construction work, which was divided into 30 bid packets.”
Bids on those packets are due by July 7.
Because of the rising cost of materials, the board followed the advice of R.E. Smith and authorized the pre-purchase of sealed decking in hopes of preventing delays in the initiation of construction.
“We hope to have the project completed by Fall of 2022,” Milburn said.
Sheila Harris
Construction is slated to begin the first week in August, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m., August 24, on a long-awaited new Monett library branch. Initiation of the project was made possible after Barry-Lawrence Regional Library District’s Board of Trustees approved the sale of $6 million in Lease Certificates of Participation at its May 20 meeting.
According to library director, Gina Milburn, the certificates, sold through the library’s municipal bond underwriter, L.J. Hart & Company of St. Louis, were snapped up within a two-week period by local individuals and financial institutions, including Security Bank of Southwest Missouri, First State Bank of Purdy, Mid-Missouri Bank and Central Trust Bank, plus individuals who assumed over $2 million of the certificates. The sales paved the way for construction on the new, 20,000-square-foot facility to begin.
“We’re really excited,” Milburn said.
The two-acre site for the proposed new building is located on the northeast corner of the junction of Park Street and Old Airport Road in Monett, a property acquired from a generous donor almost 20 years ago.
According to Milburn, the new facility will more than triple the existing library’s footprint and feature amenities to serve a variety of purposes, including separate reading/study areas for children, teens and adults; four individual study rooms; a large conference room; a smaller meeting room with a full kitchen; an indoor lounge with a coffee bar; an outdoor patio; and a drive-through service to pick up pre-ordered materials.
“The individual study rooms will seat two,” Milburn said, “and can be used for tutoring, recruiting, and tax preparation assistance. The small meeting room with a kitchen can be used for food demos, maybe a canning demo by the extension office, for example.”
Milburn added that plenty of televisions will be available, as will video cameras and computers.
Plans for the new library have been a long time in the works.
“Ground-breaking was originally planned for sometime in 2009 or 2010, Milburn said, “but a necessary tax levy was rolled back, so plans were put on hold.”
Milburn emphasizes that the passage of the operating expense levy in the June, 2020, election is not paying for the construction of the new facility.
“Rather,” she said, “it allowed us to get financing for it. A portion of the 7 cent operating levy approved by voters in 2020 will serve as the revenue source for the repayment,” Milburn said.
Milburn was pleased to see the lease certificates sold within the community.
“The community will also benefit,” she said, “from much of the R.E. Smith contracted construction work, which was divided into 30 bid packets.”
Bids on those packets are due by July 7.
Because of the rising cost of materials, the board followed the advice of R.E. Smith and authorized the pre-purchase of sealed decking in hopes of preventing delays in the initiation of construction.
“We hope to have the project completed by Fall of 2022,” Milburn said.
