News Photo by Kaitlin Ryan The Alcona County Library

HARRISVILLE –The Alcona County Library is putting forth an effort to secure its future within the community by purchasing lots adjacent to the Harrisville location and promoting the passing of the Library Operating Millage Renewal.

At the library board meeting on Wednesday, board members Mary Gruba and Merry Loyer made a motion to buy six available lots next to the library at the Harrisville branch. It will cost the library an estimated $1,600, with additional expenses from the 2018 taxes and costs. The board unanimously approved the motion.

Library Director Denise Bearre said they do not have a current plan for the lots, only that they will be used in the event of further library expansion. With the recent opening of a reading garden and book trail, Bearre hopes it will bring more people to the library so they can continue to grow and provide services for the community.

Also discussed at the meeting was the upcoming Library Operating Millage Renewal.

That 0.5-mill property tax proposal will appear on the Aug. 7 ballot. If approved, it will provide about 80 percent of the library’s operating budget, Bearre said.

The millage would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $25 a year for the next eight years, and in its first year it would provide an estimated $368,937 for the library.

The board also approved a motion Wednesday to immediately contact the Alcona County Board of Commissioners should the August proposal fail and ask that the millage be allowed on the November ballot with the same language.

Kaitlin Ryan can be reached at kryan@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 989-358-5693.