Yard signs are seen throughout Fortville as the new location for the new library is yet to be determined. The Board of Trustees will vote on the new location at their next meeting, Aug. 15.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — After meeting with representatives from both Fortville and McCordsville, the Mt. Vernon Township Library Board of Trustees will decide on a new location for the library, and is set to do so at their next meeting.
Melissa Loiselle, director of Mt. Vernon Township Library, shared in an email Monday that the Board of Trustees had met with both town managers and planners to discuss ways to maximize each location and costs if they were the ones to host the new library site.
Loiselle stated Fortville shared the idea that the setback could be smaller than what originally the architects anticipated, which would create more area for parking, a concern raised at a meeting covered by the Daily Reporter in early June.
They also talked about working on a larger drainage retention area with this site. Adam Zaklikowski, planning and building director for the town of Fortville, said that the town is interested in development off of Broadway Street, but the ground is fairly flat.
“Drainage can be challenging, so if we are able to do a master plan and we have involvement some adjacent property owners, we could potentially do a larger detention basin or pond that would serve the whole area as opposed to doing multiple smaller ponds on each individual property,” Zaklikowski said.
Loiselle shared in her email that McCordsville suggested they reposition the building on the site plan that was proposed earlier this summer to maximize the square footage and have parking spaces on a smaller amount of land to reduce the cost of land acquisition and that the town would complete some of the roads and infrastructure for water damage to help reduce costs. The McCordsville location would also be a part of McCord Square, having walking ability.
As far as funding, Loiselle said McCordsville was awarded a READI grant for the initial round of funding, and indicated they would be willing to request funds to cover the cost of land acquisition.
“…If the region is awarded money, the town intends to submit at least one project for funding. If the library board selects a McCordsville site in McCord Square, the town would include funding for the library as part of the funding request. We currently anticipate notification of grant awards in Q1 of 2024,” Ryan Crum, assistant town manager for planning and building of McCordsville, shared in an email.
Loiselle stated in her email that Fortville would be willing to work with the library in applying for a READI 2.0 grant and an Office of Community and Rural Affairs Community Development Block Grant, OCRA CDBG. The maximum amount available for a CDBG grant is $500,000
Fortville also pointed out that the site location is in a TIF district and could possibly use TIF funds to help with infrastructure costs.
At the June Board of Trustees meeting, Loiselle shared that there was a discussion to ensure that no matter what site plan was chosen, both communities in the township would receive high levels of library services.
It was revealed that the library staff has been working on a proposal to have an express library in addition to the new library, located in whichever town does not host the new library.
“We were inspired by the Express Library in Arvada, Colorado. Julie Wilson, our board president, sent me a link to an article about this library several months ago. We started talking about it internally at that time,” Loiselle shared. “Interestingly enough, a very similar idea originated organically from our public feedback meetings. A group of residents wondered about the possibility of using technology to create a self-service library location.”
Loiselle shared that they received a grant from the state library to purchase a vehicle for outreach purposes, which would allow transportation for moving holds or books, returns and more.
“In addition to a popular collection of materials for all ages, we plan to transport library holds, and offer free Wi-Fi, public computers, copying, printing and faxing. Ideally, we would also like to offer small, private meeting rooms available for reservation,” Loiselle said.
Loiselle said that both towns were receptive to the idea. More details of the express library will be provided in the future as decisions are made.
“The express library is a good alternative concept to ensure certain library services are provided in both population centers in Vernon Township. There are details and logistics to work out, including, ensuring that the necessary services can be provided in such a limited space, but overall open to more discussion on the concept,” Crum said.
After having multiple meetings and discussion on the plans for the future library, the Board of Trustees will vote on the location at their next meeting, which will take place Aug. 15 at 1806 W. Ind. 234 in Fortville. The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
