Residents, trustees urge Shenandoah County to fund central library expansion as costs rise
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Summary
Multiple residents, library trustees and foundation members asked the board to fund a long‑planned Edinburg library expansion, saying donors have spent hundreds of thousands on planning and pledged $2 million while delays have pushed estimated costs higher.
Multiple residents, trustees and foundation members told the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors at a public hearing that the county should fund a long‑planned expansion of the central library in Edinburg.
"I just want to appeal to the entire board to seriously consider the needs of the library expansion, to consider how important we feel it is to manage our archives and our history," said Marina Sherman of Quicksburg, opening a series of library comments.
Brad Biddle, a member of the Shenandoah County Library Board, reviewed the project's history and the library foundation’s financial involvement. Biddle said donors and the foundation spent roughly $200,000 on architectural drawings and that private donors had pledged $2,000,000 to help with construction. He told the board that an alternative site previously considered would have lowered the county’s estimated outlay to about $11,000,000, but negotiations on that option fell through.
David Frederick, a county library trustee and volunteer, described library use and space constraints at the Edinburg facility, saying the system serves about 17,000 residents and recorded roughly 81,000 visits last year. Frederick urged the supervisors to partner with the library foundation on facility improvements and warned that continued delay raises costs.
Suzanne Montgomery, chair of the library trustees, said she will step down as chair after two years of waiting for a county decision and described growing frustration among trustees who had been poised to launch a capital campaign. Jean Russell, a foundation member, said the foundation already had invested in planning and fundraising and asked the board to act so the foundation could complete its campaign.
Not all comments focused solely on the library. Some attendees said they oppose any tax increase this year and raised concerns about reassessments and the distribution of tax burdens. Nancy Sutter told the board she is challenging her assessment and said it could rise substantially; she asked for a full accounting and review of assessment methodology. Brad Pollock urged supervisors to reject a tax increase and suggested cutting other budgets instead of raising taxes.
The chair closed the hearing after taking the final comments. No formal action was taken; the board left the matter for further deliberation at upcoming sessions.
