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Library commissioners and residents urge council to keep downtown library intact amid children's museum proposal
Summary
Library commissioners and patrons told council the proposed plan for the Beaumont Children's Museum to lease most of the downtown library building would leave the library with limited space, could require a charter amendment and risk interrupting current programs; speakers urged consideration of alternate sites.
Several library commissioners and residents told City Council they are concerned about a proposal for the Beaumont Children’s Museum to lease most of the downtown public library building and urged the city to seek alternate downtown locations.
Kate Hambright, a Beaumont Library Commission appointee and president of the Terrell Historical Library Association, said the downtown building at "Downtown Main" (the identifier used by speakers) is a roughly 30,000‑square‑foot facility and that the museum seeks to lease 20,000–25,000 square feet. "That would leave the library with the use of only 5 to 10,000 square feet of its own building," Hambright said. She told council that library administrative and technical‑services offices already occupy about 9,500 square feet and that relocating those offices would be unlikely under current budgets.
Hambright also cited the city charter in questioning whether the downtown library may be repurposed. She said the charter’s library article (as read to council during public comment) restricts the city’s ability to rent certain city facilities and that a charter amendment might be necessary to accommodate a long‑term lease of the library building for a museum.
Dora Nisby, chair of the Beaumont Library Commission, reiterated the commission’s concerns and urged council to preserve downtown library services. "City libraries are one of the few free resources offered to citizens," Nisby said, and she described programming the library provides, including adult education classes and outreach that reached more than 50,000 people last year.
Speakers asked the council to encourage the museum to work with Beaumont Main Street and private downtown property owners to find alternative locations that would not displace library services. The council did not take formal action during the public‑comment period; staff and council members acknowledged the comments and said the matter would be considered in upcoming agenda items and planning discussions.
