Council approves library bond resolution to pursue Stringtown neighborhood branch

The Evansville Common Council on March 9 approved resolution C2026-11, authorizing the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library to pursue additional appropriations and the process to prepare a general obligation bond for a proposed Stringtown neighborhood branch.

Heather Kelsey, chief operating officer for the library, said the library seeks authorization to begin predevelopment and bonding steps and that the request is for an amount “not to exceed the number that is in the resolution.” She told the council there are no final bond numbers at this time and that the library will not sell bonds this year; the appropriation will allow the board to pursue design, agreements and board approvals to move the project forward.

Kelsey said the library’s portion of the Crawford Door redevelopment under consideration would be about 10,550 square feet, compared with an ideal neighborhood branch size of about 10,000 square feet. Scott Kinney, the library’s CEO, said the project is bond‑rate neutral and that the library remains well under its bonding capacity.

Council members expressed support for the potential adaptive reuse and neighborhood benefit of a larger branch and then approved the resolution by roll call, 8–0.

The resolution authorizes the library to continue planning and to return when bond sale and final appropriation decisions are required.