Wake County considers nearly $100 million bond for libraries. And it could go higher.

Anna Johnson
·3 min read
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Wake County voters could see a nearly $100 million bond referendum on the ballot this fall to renovate and upgrade the area’s libraries, including building a new library in Rolesville.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners got its first look at a potential $94 million bond, and asked staff how much it would take to build even more.

While 99.8% of county residents live within a 20-minute drive of a library, Wake County leaders want to improve the percentage who live within a 10-minute drive, which sits at 84.7%.

At least 1 in 5 people in Wake County have a library card, according to county numbers.

Rolesville could get its first library

There is only one municipality in Wake County that doesn’t have a library, said Rolesville Mayor Ronnie Currin.

Wake County is recommending building a library in Rolesville, estimated to cost $14.3 million.

“If you look at northern, eastern Wake County, you’d have to go a long way,” Currin said. “You’ve got to go to Wake Forest or Zebulon to go to a library. It’s been in the works for a long time. It would mean a lot.”

Rolesville has plans for a new $55 million municipal center with buildings for fire, police, town hall, a community center and a library. The library would be built by Wake County on land donated by the town and would depend on the success of the bond.

A new Rolesville library would bring the 10-minute drive mark up to 87%.

What else is staff recommending?

The public library in Wendell is the smallest of the 23 libraries in the local library system. Staff wants to change that. Wake County is recommending replacing the library in Wendell and the Athens Drive library in southwest Raleigh.

  • $17.3 million to replace Athens Drive library

  • $18.2 million to replace Wendell Library

  • $25 million for “significant upgrades” at the Library Administration building, located on Carya Drive.

  • $19.2 million for library renovations and improvements

What’s included in the renovations and improvements?

The following libraries would see renovations and improvements under the bond proposal:

  • Express Library on Fayetteville Street

  • Green Road Community Road

  • Northeast Regional Library

  • Oberlin Regional Library

  • Richard B. Harrison Community Library

  • Southeast Regional Library

  • Zebulon Community Library.

Could more libraries be added?

It seems like it. Several commissioners expressed interest in a new library in the Friendship area of Apex and an expansion at Fuquay-Varina Library. That would cost an additional $27.7 million bringing the bond total to $121.7 million.

Will a bond raise taxes?

A bond referendum nearly always results in a property tax rate increase. Wake County staff members hope to have final numbers for county leaders this spring.

When was the last library bond?

Voters approved a $45 million library bond in 2007. That bond:

  • Added new libraries in Middle Creek and Morrisville

  • Expanded or replaced libraries in Cary, Fuquay-Varina and Wake Forest

  • Renovated or repaired the East Regional, Green Road, Olivia Rainey, Richard B. Harrison, Southeast Regional, Wendell and Zebulon libraries.

Two more libraries, Eva Perry Regional and North Regional, were added after the bond was approved by voters.

The bond was also supposed to cover the cost of building a new library in North Hills but that didn’t happen.

“We went looking for property in that area to put a library on and we just couldn’t find any with a suitable price we that we were willing to pay,” said Matt Roylance, interim library director.

What other areas have limited library access?

Other locations with “little or no library service” include Brier Creek, in the Friendship area of Apex, North Hills and Southeast Wake.

The staff also says that the Duraleigh Community Library needs to be replaced, and the Fuquay-Varina and Green Road libraries need expansions.

What happens next?

Wake County staff will come back this spring with a final dollar amount and wording of the bond questions. The bond referendum would appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.