Expansion of the McBurney Memorial Library is moving forward with scaled back plans after the initial project came in over budget.

Jeff Davis Parish Library Director Michael Staton said the original project, which called for building a completely new library, would have cost $3.2 million.

The library board is now continuing with plans for a $1.3 million project to include a new 2,748-square-foot building to be located across from the current 3,000-square-foot existing building. A covered walkway with an awning will connect the two structures.

Bids for the project were received last month and are currently being reviewed by legal counsel, Staton said. A pre-bid conference is expected to be held later this month or early February before the project can move forward, he said.

The initial phase of the project, which calls for expanding the parking lot, could be underway by the spring with the building expected to be completed by late summer or early fall, according to Staton.

The new building will ease overcrowding and provide additional space to provide programs and other services.

“Statistically speaking, Welsh draws the most people and has the most circulation,” Staton said. “The Welsh community has always been very supportive of the Welsh library and we’re excited to have this new facility for them. It has been needed for quite a long time.”

The project includes a new building with a meeting room that will seat 84 people, two small private study carrels, a small prep kitchen, additional storage space and restrooms. The study carrels will provide more privacy for tutoring and online meetings.

The plans also include extending the parking lot along the side of the building to increase the number of parking spots from 24 to 44.  The parking lot will have two entrances  connecting South Sarah and Hudspeth streets, as well as a drive-thru book drop-off.

The project will also include security and camera systems.

“It will be a nice building that the people of Welsh can be proud of and use effectively,” Staton said. “They are doing some design elements, to include the window treatments, to make it go with the existing building, as well as a mural depicting Welsh.”

Future plans for the library could also include a covered pavilion for a farmers market or an amphitheater to be located on an adjacent property donated to the library by the town, he said.

Staton said the expansion will help the library meet the needs of its patrons and increase program attendance.

On an average about 1,500 people a month currently use the Welsh library to check out material, attend programs, use the computers or other services provided by the library.

“Being able to have a space that doesn’t interfere with other patrons’ ability to use the library and provide a better space for us to use the library is the biggest benefit,” he said.

The facility will also be able to be used by the community to provide for small meetings and other gatherings.

“I think this space will provide, not only for the library to do more things for the kids, but will provide a space for community members who want to do other things,” he said.

Library board members, town officials and Welsh residents began discussing plans for a new library 10 years ago after a strategic study found the current library was overcrowded, too small and no longer met the needs of the community. Those plans were scaled back to a building expansion last year after the original project came in over budget, Staton said.

The original project was expected to cost $3.2 million, which the library board did not have,  he said.

“When I came in last April, we had to reassess our needs and where we wanted to go,” he said. “We had two options – to wait till years to save that money or go out for a bond issue.”

“So we had to kind of step back and reevaluate the project with the architect to determine our goals, what the library was trying to accomplish and was there a way to be more feasible and responsible to the taxpayers.”

The original plan for the current library was to extend the existing building which was opened in 1973 to the west which would have increased the cost and could have caused foundation problems.

“We went back to the drawing board and determined that just building a separate building across the parking lot would be the most fiscally sound version so that’s the direction we headed,” he said.  “It has all been with the goal of keeping the costs down and being responsible with the taxpayers money. I feel like we are meeting the needs that need to be met, but we are also cognizant that taxpayer money should be spent wisely.”

Staton said it is a dream come true for the library to be able to offer more programs and services to its patrons and have all its programs under one roof.