It was a journey that began some years ago. That journey ended April 23 when Senoia residents and local and state elected officials gathered at Merrimac Lakes Park on Pylant Street for the groundbreaking of the new Senoia Library.
“The library has been on a journey for a while,” Coweta County Library System Director Barbara Osborne-Harris said as she took the podium at Merrimac Lakes Park for the ground breaking of the city’s replacement library.
Osborne-Harris in addressing citizens and the group of city, county and state elected officials at the site thanked everyone for their continued support and patience during the process that led to the groundbreaking for the 6,563 square-foot library.
State Rep. Billy Horne (District 71) was one of a handful of speakers to make brief remarks at the Saturday morning ceremony. Horne said the library was important so that “our kids don’t become illiteracy statistics.”
District 1 Coweta County Commissioner Paul Poole said the occasion represented a special day for Senoia and the library system, noting the time, effort and passion that culminated in the groundbreaking.
Also speaking at the event was Senoia Mayor Robert Belisle.
“This is a great day. I can’t wait until it’s open,” Belisle said. “All the people on the library board, past and present, have our sincere gratitude for all the work they’ve done.”
Belisle also thanked the various elected officials for their support. Belisle in his comments noted the project’s financial contribution, a large part of which came from impact fees and one-cent sales tax revenues.
Also speaking at the groundbreaking was Coweta Library Board Chairman Jay Moore who challenged the audience to consider the impact of libraries on their communities. Commenting on the need to build a library system that will fill both current and future literacy needs, Moore likened the mission of a library to an acronym for the word RUSH – Read Until Something Happens.
And addressing the audience near the end of the groundbreaking ceremony was Senoia Councilman and city-library board representative Jeff Fisher.
“We’re here to celebrate the beginning of a new era and we’re turning a page,” Fisher said of the process that led to the occasion. “This library was designed and will be built on behalf of the citizens, and they are the reason we’re here.”
Construction on the 6,563 square-foot library will begin immediately. Once completed, the setting will be nothing short of idyllic. It will be nestled in the trees near Pylant Street overlooking the property encompassed by city-owned Merrimac Lakes Park.
