Years of hard work, fundraising and planning are paying off for the residents of White County. During Monday night’s county commission meeting, Chairman Travis Turner announced the state legislature approved $3 million in funding for the construction of a new Cleveland/White County Public Library.
Turner applauded the efforts of State Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) in helping to secure the funds and the local community.
“This was a team approach not only from the board of commissioners, our staff, the library, the Friends of the Library — a lot of folks went to bat. This is a tremendous opportunity to help us in funding this project going forward,” said Turner.
White County Commissioner Terry Goodger has been spearheading efforts by the county to find funding for the library project. Goodger announced last week there could be some funding opportunities available through U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s office.
Goodger, with the help of Northeast Georgia Regional Library System Director Delana Knight and county staff, has completed the application process for funding.
He said the application would not be complete without letters of support from community and business leaders. As of Monday night’s meeting, he told the commissioners they had 31 letters of support, with more expected before they submit the application later this week.
The county is seeking $3 million from the federal government.
“We will be reviewing the federal side of the coin to make sure that any caveats do not go against what we feel like is in the best interest of our White County community,” said Turner.
Goodger advised they could hear back on the application in as little as four weeks.
Out of space
County residents have been pushing for a new library for several years. In 2021, Friends of the Library launched a fundraising campaign with a goal of $150,000. At the time, group member Nadine Wardenga said the goal was “to prove to the county and the cities that we really need a library.”
Space limitations are a primary concern. White County has two libraries—one in Cleveland and one in Helen. The Cleveland facility has about 6,000 square feet of space, and the Helen facility has about 4,000 square feet of space. However, state standards based on White County’s population recommend 22,912 square feet of space, more than double what both libraries provide.
The new Cleveland/White County Public Library would add more space and open new opportunities for expanded programming.
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