CLEVELAND, Ga. (WRWH) — Friends of the White County Library have a mission: They want the new Library built now and don’t want any further construction delays. The group turned out in force Monday at the White County Board of Commissioners meeting to impress upon the board their concerns.
Former White County Commissioner Terry Goodger, who spearheaded efforts to build the library when he was in office, reviewed how the efforts have progressed over the years. He said the proposed facility is estimated to cost $6.9 million. The county has obtained a $3 million grant from the state of Georgia.
Friends of the Library have been working since at least 2021 to get a new library built.
Goodger said the Friends have already raised over $200,000 to help with the project and want to do more. He told the commissioners, “I would like to see the library project to continue on and not stall out; the architect should go ahead and finish the plans so the project manager could get a not-to-exceed price so that the amount of additional funding will be known.”
Goodger also asked the board to allow them to sell sponsorships for the project, similar to how Lumpkin County did in building their new library facility.
Several other citizens followed Goodger in expressing the need for a new library and their support of it.
White County Commission Chairman Travis Turner, following about a dozen people who commented, told the group, “There’s no doubt where a majority of you stand regarding the library project. It’s not on our agenda for discussion this evening, but I feel confident that it will, shall we say, encourage some conversations on where we might be going in the coming weeks and months.”
The commissioners did indicate they are still pursuing federal funding through U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s office and encourage everyone to call the senator’s office at 470-786-7800 and let their feelings be known.
