Portneuf District Library bond to see vote May 21

On April 1, the Portneuf District Library announced plans to move from its current location on Stuart Avenue in Chubbuck to the corner of East Chubbuck Road and Burley Drive.

It’s a move the library said needs to be made in order to accommodate large crowds and a lack of storage space.

“We’re seeing this growth and we’re having more and more people come. We’re also hearing people tell us, I love your programs, I can’t come anymore because there’s too many people, there’s not enough space,” Director Holly Jackson said.

“This isn’t something that’s just a pie in the sky, this is something that we really need to serve the community the way they deserve.”

But there’s a problem. The library is a government municipality and as such isn’t attached to, funded by or run by the City of Chubbuck. As a result, the library needs a bond in the amount of $11.645 million to make the new library a reality.

Next Tuesday, May 21, the bond will be voted on by residents of Bannock County.

“We are nervous, we are excited. We’ve had a huge amount of support from the community,” Jackson said. “I know, people tell me that online they see negative comments but we’ve felt nothing but support from the community.”

Those against the bond are most commonly concerned with the tax hike, approximately $85 annually, or the fact that they feel the library has been trying to do this in secret.

“I tell everyone if there was any other way for me to do this, for this new building for the community which we and the community feel it needs, then I would do it,” Jackson explained.

Jackson wants people to know that the new library isn’t being proposed just because they want a new one.

“Yeah, if we were doing it because we like a new facility it would be much bigger and better, it would be all of our dreams come true,” she said.

Now, just more than a week before the vote, Jackson just wants people to come talk to her if they have questions or concerns.

“We’ve heard of secret neighborhood meetings, we have people who are perpetuating the wrong information, they do not understand that I will answer any of their questions,” she said.

“I would love to come and talk to them.”