Kanawha County Public Library system board members have narrowed a list of 20 unnamed possible locations for a new main library branch to six, according to an architect working on the search.
A group of board members, library staff, representatives from Charleston-based Silling Associates and others the board has hired to help in the location search toured proposed sites last month.
Silling Project Architect Brian Estep said the six properties remaining are being analyzed, and the board will select three for a more detailed look. He said renovating and expanding the current main branch building, on the corner of Capitol and Quarrier streets in downtown Charleston, is among the six top options.
Estep said he believes there will be a public session for the community to provide input on what the board should seek in a new main branch, but he said it'll be after the board selects a single site.
Estep said Monday he didn't have a date for when that session would be or when the single site will be selected.
Board President Cheryl Crigger Morgan said it was her understanding that the public input session will be before the selection of a single site. She said the system may be able to prevent compromising its negotiation power by describing the pros and cons of proposed locations to the community in generalities without naming the actual sites.
Governing bodies are often reluctant to name properties under consideration for fear the property owners will respond by raising prices. When asked whether any of the six remaining sites are vacant lots a new branch might be built upon, Morgan said she didn't think any of the finalists are "completely vacant."