By Annie Piekarczyk / STAFF

On November 4 2008, Fulton County voters approved a $275 million library bond referendum (by a two-to-one margin) to significantly enhance the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System by providing funding for the construction of eight new libraries, the expansion of two others and the renovation of 23 more. The Atlanta-Fulton County Library System Board of Trustees determined that one of those eight new libraries included in the plan would be in constructed in Milton. 

For more than a month, the Board of Trustees has been accepting recommendations and suggestions of particular site locations for the new libraries. During Milton’s second town hall meeting, council members Bill Lusk and Karen Thurman emphasized the importance of citizen input on the project and many council members have attested to the fact that citizen feedback on the new libraries has been consistently passed on from council members to the Board of Trustees.

Councilwoman Tina D’Aversa spoke of the city’s excitement of the upcoming project. “We’ve had a number of emails circulating to the council and throughout the city about the library because we’re all, rightly so, very excited about [the new library]. There’s a lot of buzz in the city,” she said. 

John Szabo, Director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, explained to council members that the new 25,000 square foot library to be built in Milton has not been a controversial issue to the Board of Trustee members or to the County Commissioners. In fact, he said the discussions of the new libraries have gone over rather smoothly. “One thing I want to mention is that involvement from citizens has been the hallmark of this entire process, a process characterized by a lack of controversy and a lot of that is from good citizen input,” said Szabo.

The master plan of completing all of the intended projects is broken up into phases. Phase I, which includes the new Milton library, is a ten-project phase. Szabo said, “All [ten] are collectively the priority, not one over the other. This will be a challenging task but one we are ready to manage as we see these projects move forward. The first steps are to bring program management on board.” The total cost for all ten projects is estimated at $167 million dollars. And to the relief and satisfaction of Councilwoman Julie Zahner-Bailey, Szabo confirmed that none of the libraries will be prototypes, but that each branch will be unique to its community’s needs and wants. “What Milton’s folks will want and need will be different than folks in other cities,” said Szabo.

As part of the site-selection process, the Board of Trustees has put together a list of criteria that the hopeful library site will fulfill, some items of criteria including pedestrian access, public transportation and proximity to schools. The Board of Trustees will be making a recommendation to the Fulton County Commissioners in late summer/Fall 2009 as to the location of the new Milton library, and in turn the Commissioners will make the final decision.

Szabo said that while the month of July was the formal time during which citizens could give their input on site-selection, it will not be the last opportunity for residents to make recommendations and suggestions on the project as a whole. “That was not the end of public input in this process,” he said. “We will be back to engage citizens and receive more input.”