In case you haven’t already heard, we achieved a huge first step in getting a public library in our community!

On Thursday, July 8th the Orange County Library System (OCLS) Board of Trustees voted unanimously “to direct staff to pursue working with Orange County and the City of Orlando for libraries at both locations: Horizon West and Lake Nona.” See the resolution here: https://www.ocls.info/sites/default/files/BranchPlanPartnershipRes.pdf

The Board took this action after hearing a joint presentation delivered by representatives from the real estate departments of Orange County Government and the City of Orlando.

The City is offering to design and build a Lake Nona area library on Dowden Road at its forthcoming government center. The construction will be managed by the City’s experienced project managers and will occur at the City’s cost with NO upfront capital outlay required by the OCLS. Upon completion, the library building would be leased back to the OCLS by the City.

Since the City is taking care of upfront costs associated with the Lake Nona area library, a significant amount of money is freed up that the OCLS can direct to costs associated with designing and building the Horizon West Branch, which is now being offered as a ground lease to the OCLS instead of a purchase — saving taxpayers $4.1 million!

See video clips of the historic vote and residents speaking (including 2 youngsters!) at: https://www.facebook.com/2002635/posts/10120082246458931/?d=n