Plans for the new Felton Library are moving forward, with constructed expected to begin in 2018.
Once completed, the two-acre-parcel next to the Felton Post Office on Gushee Street will house a new library, as well as an adjacent area for children to experience nature.
Felton Library Friends envision a children’s space that encourages art, building, gardening, music, and movement.
“The current Felton Library does not currently serve the needs of the 21st century,” said county Library Director Susan Nemitz.
Indeed, problems such as lack of parking, disabled access, homework areas, meeting rooms and inadequate shelving cannot be corrected because of the building’s historic landmark restrictions (built in 1893).
Voter approval in June of a $67 million library facilities improvement bond measure included $8.6 million to build the new 9,300-square-foot library in Felton.
The current space in the 123-year-old former Presbyterian Church at Gushee and Felton Empire Grade is 1,250 square feet.
The county bond money will pay for the cost of the site, building construction,
furniture, fixtures, equipment, technology, design, engineering fees and management, Nemitz said.
The Felton Library Friends is raising money through community involvement to beautify the inside of the library and construct the children’s’ nature area.
