By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council last week authorized Mayor Gene Melton to contract with architect Joel Blackstock to prepare an updated cost estimate for the removal of the John C. Yarbrough Community Center to expand the Trussville Public Library.
Melton said Blackstock has worked on the potential expansion of the library “several different times.”
Melton said Blackstock will likely have a final cost estimate of what an expansion of the library will be in the next three to five months.
Melton said it hasn’t yet been decided if the neighboring community center will be torn down completely. He did say, however, that it would likely be cheaper to tear it down and build a new structure for the library.
“If that’s the case, then that’s the direction we’ll go,” Melton said.
With last week’s approval, the city is in the planning process. There is no timetable for when this project could begin.
Trussville Public Library Director Emily Tish said an expansion could include a 250-seat auditorium, administrative offices, a Friends of the Library bookstore and meeting rooms, among other things. She said Story Time and other events at the library currently take up space in the center of the library.
The Trussville Public Library building on Parkway Drive was dedicated in 1965 by then-Mayor John Yarbrough. In 1988, the library underwent a substantial renovation when it added a children’s room. In 1996, the library was temporarily relocated to two classrooms in the John C. Yarbrough Community Center while another major renovation took place. That renovation entailed a remodeling of the existing structure and an addition that doubled the library’s size. The newly renovated library opened in November of 1997 and was dedicated on May 17, 1998.
The John C. Yarbrough Community Center was purchased by the city in 1951.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.