New library in Inkom moving forward after becoming fully funded thanks to recent levy passage
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INKOM — A new library is officially coming to Inkom.
With the passage of the Special Plant Facilities Reserve Fund Levy in the May 21 primary election, the project received the remaining funds needed to move forward. The levy received a majority, bringing in 793 votes, which is 60.44% of the vote.
“I was just amazed,” said Megan Short, director of the South Bannock Library District, describing when she first heard the levy passed. “It felt like it was the ending needed to all the hard work that I and my board had put in to getting that levy passed.”
When looking at voters who supported the levy, Short found that the city of Inkom carried the vote by a strong majority.
“This just shows that (Inkom) wants the library, and they want our district to prosper, and I owe it all to them,” Short said.
The ballot language states that the levy will collect a little over $1 million over the course of ten years, starting in 2025 for the purpose of financing the cost of constructing and renovating library buildings.
The yearly amount collected will be $100,941 with an estimated average annual cost of $7.47 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value based on current condition to the taxpayer. The ballot language states that the district is already collecting a reserve levy fund of the same amount that expires in 2025.
The last $197,000 of funding for the library came from the newly passed levy. The library was also funded through the current levy for $189,000, $500,000 Idaho Library Improvement Grant and unexpended budget and excess revenue of around $100,000.
The funding to finance the library comes out to around $1.2 million.
This new library will be located at the corner of Holstein Street and Old Highway 30 in the corner of the Inkom Elementary School playground. They acquired this ground through a land swap with the Marsh Valley School District worth around $174,000. Short said that this will be the perfect place for the new library.
“We are right there so we can have class visits and they don’t even have to cross the street to walk to the library from the school,” Short said.
Short said that Inkom is a growing city, and this library will also bring a well-sized meeting room to Inkom.
The designs for the library have also been finalised.
The library district has not set a time for when they’ll begin construction yet, but she said that the architect and contractor estimate that the building will take 10 months to build.
Because of the Idaho Library Improvement Grant, the district has to have the library operational by August 2026.
This new library will provide more than just books for patrons. Visitors will be able to access study space, programming for children and adults and a closer location for south Bannock County residents to visit.
“It’s not just a showcase for books,” Short said. “Any type of interest you have, there’s something at the library for you.”