Oconee County staff propose $25,000 redesign of Seneca Library entrance and parking

County staff presented a conceptual redesign of the Seneca Library front entrance and adjacent parking that would reconfigure driveway access, repair settling sidewalks and add parking spaces.

Kyle Reid, a staff member working with the county facilities maintenance center, told the committee the schematic is intended to give the county “something on paper” to start conversations with the City of Seneca. Reid said the concept aims to refresh the library’s frontage, address steps and sidewalk settlement, and concentrate parking on the building’s front side.

The plan is a preliminary concept rather than a final design. Reid said the estimated cost is “somewhere around $25,000” and that the layout provides the 288 parking spaces the audit recommended. He cautioned that some elements — including the number of spaces and edge conditions — may change depending on feedback from the city.

Reid described one design choice intended to improve vehicle movements near the sidewalk: making one area 8 feet deep so drivers can back up before accessing the sidewalk and the building entrance. He also said using the existing drive would avoid adding a second cut to the road and could reduce the need to involve the Department of Transportation because the driveway would tie into county property.

Committee members asked about widening the drive and potential extra costs. Reid said widening to improve room for backing and turning is possible but would add “another couple thousand” to the estimate and may require moving the curb or altering the east-side parking. He noted the sidewalk and a retaining wall are likely to be bid work or subcontracted because of settling at the library entrance.

Reid said he met with local stakeholders while developing the concept, including “Blair” from the Seneca Library and Jason Lehi, who is described in the meeting as being “over facilities.” Those local conversations, Reid said, will guide whether the county proceeds and how the design is adjusted.

No formal vote or funding appropriation occurred during the presentation. Reid asked whether the committee wanted him to begin discussions with the City of Seneca; committee members indicated support for starting conversations, and the county administrator (identified in the meeting as Miss Brock) was named as the person to whom staff would report for next steps.

Next steps mentioned during the meeting included: staff taking the concept to the City of Seneca for review and returning with refined cost estimates and any required design changes. The transcript does not specify a funding source or whether the $25,000 estimate includes contingencies or bid costs.

The presentation followed earlier committee discussion and was described as a follow-up to topics raised at a prior meeting; the county did not take a formal action to fund or contract construction at this time.