The city of Mora and East Central Regional Library are partnering up for the first step of what mayor Jake Mathison called a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to build a new public library.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the city council voted to work with firm BKV on a needs analysis study for constructing a new library. East Central Regional Library has agreed to pay 50% of the cost.
BKV recently completed a library project in Howard Lake.
Mathison explained that the city has been approached by a potential donor who wishes to remain anonymous about the project.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to seed a large chunk of a state of the art library,” he said. “Not many communities get that opportunity.”
The potential donor’s two conditions are that the new library is a memorial library, and is architecturally significant.
Carla Lydon, executive director of the East Central Regional Library, said the current Mora Public Library is over 50 years old and has outgrown modern library service.
The city is considering possible locations for a new library facility.
“We’ve had conversations with East Central, and I think that at this point, we don’t want to limit our options,” Mathison said. “Obviously, we like the location as it is, but there are also things that go with that. Where do you house the library when the new library is being built? I think that there are options on the table, potential city-owned lots, moving forward as well.”
The motion to move forward with the needs analysis study passed unanimously.
