Officials from the East Lake Community Library are in the early stages of planning a million-dollar expansion.
The 2,500-square-foot addition would be the first phase in a plan that would eventually take the library from 6,400 square feet to 19,000 sq ft, library director Lois Eannel told Pinellas County commissioners Thursday. Her remarks came during a budget information session. The library is independent of the Commission, but commissioners set the tax rate for the library’s operation.
Eannel said the expansion, which she hopes will be complete sometime next year, will mean the addition of a children’s room, a teen room and a place for more public computers. The total cost is expected to be about $1.2 million.
Most of that – about $1 million – would come from a state grant. The remainder would come out of savings and fundraising efforts.
It is unclear when construction might start. Eannel said the library had scheduled a June 20 public meeting with the Council of North County Neighborhoods to get comments from area residents about the proposal.
