One of three options for a new Republic branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library has been eliminated, but a decision on the other two options remains to be made.
The Springfield-Greene County Library District Board of Trustees met Oct. 17 and briefly discussed plans to use money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for an expansion of its Republic library.
The library district will soon hire an architect to design the expansion. During the meeting, board member Clinton Beecham, who reported on activity from a buildings and grounds committee, said that the library should have a design architect selected by mid-November, pending a favorable review of bids for the job.
The library system received about $4.5 million in ARPA grants allocated from the state of Missouri for the expansion of its Republic branch.
Cost is an issue for the expansion — library officials have previously said that the $4.5 million from ARPA will not be enough for a new building, and that they were seeking additional grants for its construction.
One option eliminated, two remain
The district has eliminated the possibility of expanding its current building, located at 921 N. Lindsay Ave., to include an auditorium and business center. That means two options remain:
• Building a new library just to the north of the current building on land the library district already owns. A feasibility study done earlier this year by Dake Wells Architecture found the site is suitable for a new building because of adequate water drainage, good access to utilities and no sinkholes.
• Building a new library on a few acres of land just to the west of the U.S. Highway 60 and James River Freeway interchange. That property is currently owned by the Republic School District, which bought 76 acres for $3.6 million in December 2022. Matt Pearce, superintendent of the school district, said in August that a library-sized building could be built on 5 acres.
Library board president Rachael Morrow in July said a selection of a site needs to be done quickly, in order to make financial decisions within a window of time allowed by ARPA.
The district remains silent on the costs, pros and cons of each of the two options, however, as well as why the building-addition option was eliminated. The board went into closed session under the real estate exemption of Missouri’s Sunshine Law (Chapter 610.020.2 of Missouri Revised Statutes) Tuesday, and has done so in several meetings prior.
Springfield-Greene County Library Executive Director Regina Greer Cooper said that because one of the options involves a potential land purchase from the school district, details about all three options will remain under discussion privately, until a decision is made. Cooper also did not elaborate on reasons for perceived delays.
“I know it seems like it is being dragged out, but we can’t make the decision until a lot of things fall into place,” Cooper said. “We have to have all our ducks in a row, so the board can make a decision.”
Growing interest in the Republic branch
The idea for expanding the Republic library branch has been floating around for years, Cooper said in August. The branch’s current building offers only about 10,000 square feet of space — not enough for Republic's fast-growing population.
Interest appears to be growing, as well. During the meeting Oct. 17, Cooper said the library had to deal with a rash of misinformation about the new location posted on Facebook pages focused on Republic, and that the board’s next meeting may have more visitors than usual because of the interest.
She said Republic residents and other library patrons are invited to attend the board’s meetings, and can register in advance to speak. Patrons can also email their views to the board.
“Anyone can come and express their opinion if they get on the agenda,” Cooper said. “There is an email where people can express their opinions, we will certainly take all of those opinions to the board.”
The Republic library first opened in 1961 in order to consolidate several book deposits. It has relocated five times over its history.
