Paynesville Buys Land For New Library

PAYNESVILLE (WJON News) -- A local city has taken the first step towards getting a new library. The City of Paynesville has agreed to purchase land at 311 Washburne Avenue for $250,000 as the first step in its plan to build a new library.

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The city has been looking for a site for a new library for about 3 or 4 years. Mayor Shawn Reinke says the lot is a great fit for what they wanted:

"We thought that its site really fit all the things we're looking for in a library as far as walkability to those who live in town, its closeness to downtown, where it can help revitalize that a little bit, and it really gives us some space where we can expand and grow the library's options for our community."

Reinke says finding a site was the biggest hurdle for the project:

"The biggest hurdle in our ability to from that sort of firm definite plan was how are we going to get the land for it. Now that we have that, now we can get the rest of it put together and get that submitted so that the public is aware of everything including the timeline, the fundraising, that takes all of those things can be communicated."

He says they still have a lot of planning to do and it will probably be the Spring of 2025 before they break ground on the new library building. The new library is a joint effort between the city and Great River Regional Library. The city is supplying the land and building, GRRL will provide the collection of materials and staff.

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