The Athens Clarke-County Commission is scheduled to discuss potential locations for the East Side public library at their meeting tomorrow.
Funded by SPLOST 2020 dollars, the project is the answer to years of lobbying from East Side residents. In May, a community survey allowed the public to provide input on the locations and how they plan to use the new space.
The Site Selection Committee has proposed four sites, which include a Board of Education building and the site of the old Kmart.
District 8 Commissioner Carol Myers, who represents the East Side, favors the sites that are the most convenient for families.
“I’m really interested in a site that is walkable for the community. We have a lot of people who are sort of working-class people living in apartments along Gaines School and Cedar Shoals, and we have the high school and Hilsman Middle School there. I would love it if kids were able to walk and families were able to walk over there,” Myers said.
If the commission approves the four sites at their next voting meeting, the architects will then conduct a more in-depth analysis of each of the potential locations and present their findings by the end of the year.
Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2024 for an opening in June 2026.
