Would save $45K but be less convenient for residents

In an effort to save money, the Peachtree City Library and the city’s Kedron Aquatic Center and Fieldhouse will soon be shortening their operating hours.

The aquatic center and fieldhouse will close at 9 p.m. instead of 10 Monday through Friday and will close at 7 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. on Saturdays.

The library will open one hour later on weekdays at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m., and it will close one hour earlier at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. — except for Wednesdays when it opens at noon and closes at 6 p.m.

That leaves the regular Sunday operating hours the same: from 1-5 p.m.

The change for the library will be effective in January while the Kedron changes won’t take effect until Feb. 13 due to the youth basketball league that’s currently ongoing, officials said.

The estimated savings for closing the library an additional 12 hours a week is $28,841. Closing Kedron an additional eight hours a week will save an estimated $16,389.

At last week’s council meeting, there was some discussion about whether closing the library earlier on weeknights was the right thing to do given that hour is popular with students needing computer access for schoolwork.

Councilwoman Cyndi Plunkett said from what she remembers the library usage in the 8-9 p.m. hour was the second highest time recorded during the week.

Plunkett said that students who participate in afterschool activities don’t get started on their homework until later in the day.

Plunkett said she would prefer having the later hour intact “because I know that’s when good kids are in there doing their homework.”

Councilman Don Haddix had a question along those lines that couldn’t be quantified by trackable statistics.
“Are they there until 9 because it’s convenient or because they need to be?” he asked.

The new hours were adopted unanimously by council, but they will be revisited at a later date to perhaps be tweaked if necessary.

By JOHN MUNFORD
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