Portneuf District Library giving relocation bond another try

Chubbuck has been expanding for years, but the Portneuf District Library can’t keep up with the demand in the limited amount of space available.

In the past five years, the library has seen a 53 percent increase in its library card holders. Unfortunately, its space is too small to accommodate for the extreme growth.

That’s why they’re looking to try again for a bond to relocate the library.

“When we really started to notice it was a problem was when we had people coming in and saying, ‘I love your programs, I can’t come anymore because it’s too busy, you don’t have enough space,'” said Holly Jackson, the director of the library.

“So, when we got to that point, the public we were supposed to be serving was coming in and saying, ‘We can’t come here because you can’t serve us effectively because of too many people, not enough books, not enough space,’ that’s when we really started to look into the option of a bond.”

The bond, which would be more than $11 million, failed the last time the library tried to pass it because fewer than 1,000 people voted for it.

Jackson said not enough people knew about the bond. She also said many who did vote didn’t like the location being considered because the street was too busy.

In order to get the word out, the Portneuf Library is holding community meetings for the public to provide feedback and ask questions. The next meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m. in the library.

The library has been located on Stuart Ave. since the 1970s. The library is considering three new locations, one of which is the location previously considered. The other two will be announced on Aug. 29 at the public meeting.

The bond will be on the ballot in either November 2019 or May 2020.