GRAVETTE — About 30 citizens attended a meet- ing last Tuesday night on future plans for the Gra- vette Public Library. Mayor Byron Warren moderated the meeting held at City Hall. He opened by asking for citizen input on what direction they hoped the library would go.
Discussion centered on purchase and remodeling of the Duffield’s building on Main Street as a future home for the library. All persons present were sup- portive of seeing the li- brary grow and seek a new location.
The Duffield’s building has been offered for sale at a price of $30,000. $18,000 is available from the com- munity foundation, leaving the city to come up with $12,000 of the cost. If pur- chased, the space will be combined with the old city hall building to become the library’s home.
Amanda Ties, storytime leader and organizer of the Gravette Friends of the Library chapter, said she was in favor of buying the Duffield’s building because it is a historic building and she would like to restore the building and preserve history. She feels towns- people in Gravette will pitch in to donate funds for the project, as “people here love their town and love to serve.” She noted the Friends of the Library are already organizing fund- raisers, the first of which is scheduled for October.
Two library commis- sion members, Makayla Brown and Lisa Singleton, also spoke in favor of li- brary expansion. Makayla expressed concern that crowded conditions had caused some patrons to stop attending the read- ing program sessions. She noted that promoting a higher reading level helps combat school dropouts and higher crime rates. Lisa said the library is get- ting busier as it sponsors GED classes and programs for younger patrons. She felt remodeling money could come from fundrais- ers and seeking grants.
The two main con- cerns about purchasing the Main Street building seemed to be the uncer- tain cost of remodeling and lack of parking space. Council member James Denver added two other concerns. He felt space might be lacking for fu- ture expansion and, if the town prospers and grows, a library on Main Street might be taking space away from a revenue-gen- erating business.
Ty Russell, Gravette chi- ropractor, whose business is on Main Street, spoke in favor of the purchase, say- ing he hoped locating the library there might spur other remodeling efforts. He said this might help make Gravette “the city of beautification and prog- ress that we claim to be.”
Karen Furlow, a former Main Street business own- er, noted that parking had not been a problem when they were located there.
Cassie Elliott, a grant writer from Highfill, has been involved with his- toric preservation and restoration of other his- toric buildings, including the Gentry library. She said restoration efforts in most towns are now fo- cusing on the downtown area. Remodeling will take the support of the whole community, she said, and it will take time; but lack of space in the present library is “a good problem to have” and “there’s lots of help out there.”
John Mitchael, chair- man of the Gravette mu- seum commission, noted purchase of the Duffield’s building will address two current efforts, larger space for a library and re- vitalizing Main Street. He reported that over 1,200 hours of volunteer labor had gone into building the museum annex, and he felt the library’s many patrons would be a source of help in library remodel- ing.
Linda Crawley, a library volunteer, addressed the library’s current space problems and said she thought the city should “buy the building and go forward.” Her husband, Jerry Crawley, offered to do volunteer labor when needed for remodeling work.
Council recorder Mike von Ree asked if consid- eration had been given to building behind the present library. He rec- ommended building a metal structure, but Dodie Evans, one of the organiz- ers of the first Gravette li- brary, felt a metal building wouldn’t have the “per- sonality” a library needed. Dodie said he had been involved with the library since its beginning and it has grown because people cared. He noted the two Main Street buildings would be a good amount of space and there would be expenses involved no matter where the library moves. Parking won’t be a
problem, he felt, because people will walk to a li- brary. He said the library should be a pivotal point in the community and it can be a real plus.
Glenn A. Duffy, one of the owners of the Duff- ield’s building, concluded the meeting by saying his wife Betty, Dodie Evans and Ann Furlow were the three people who started the original library, and he was selling his building at a loss because of his desire to see the library grow.
Duffy, at Thursday night’s council meeting, said his selling price of $30,000 would be good until Dec. 1. The council voted to table consid- eration of the Duffield’s building purchase until the October meeting.