MAHOMET — The Mahomet Public Library hopes to put a referendum on the ballot next year to support expansion plans at the facility.
That comes after voters in this spring’s primary election rejected a property tax increase to finance $10 million in renovations.
Library Director John Howard says it has become harder to accommodate the growing number of residents using the library.
“It’s heartbreaking when you see, we’re having a magician, or we’re having a musician or we’re having live animals at the library,” he added.
“Kids come in with a big smile on their face and they see that there’s a line down the hallway and a line out into the children’s area and there’s no place left in the room. They turn around and go home.”
The proposed expansion had three phases and dozens of new spaces and activities for all users of the library.
According to information released by the library, the children’s area is the most used and most crowded area in the space. The expansion would have included a 7,200 square feet children’s space, with a dedicated area for teens.
The proposed expansion also included an outdoor patio, additional shelving and a large, dividable community room, as the current community space often reaches capacity.
“The biggest thing is that when people come, we won’t see kids getting turned away from a program they were excited to attend because there’s just no room,” Howard said.
The Library Board of Trustees pledged 15% of the projected costs for the project from existing library reserves and donations from the community and grants, leaving the remaining $8,925,000 up to Mahomet residents to fund.
The expansion would have cost residents a less than 1% property tax increase to fund the public library’s proposed expansion. This would be about $5.33 a month on a $300,000 home.
According to Howard, there was a difference of 25 votes out of around 2,900 votes that decided against the expansion.
“What we’ve heard from people is that pretty much everyone supports it,” said Howard. “Just not everyone supports raising taxes to get it.”
However, without the adequate funding, Howard says the library will continue to accept donations and will be holding study sessions to discuss how much money can be raised, in hopes of lowering the economic burden on Mahomet residents.
Howard hopes that a referendum for the expansion, without the outdoor patio inclusion, will pass on next year’s ballot.
“My vision is to make our new children’s library a magical place. Make it a place that people have considerable pride in,” he said. “So that if somebody comes to visit in Mahomet, and they have kids, the first thing a Mahomet resident would say to them is, ‘We’ve got to take you up to see our children’s library.’”