Despite hearing from many passionate Clermont library supporters, the Hall County library board voted Wednesday to recommend the county proceed with plans to build a North Hall library at Nopone Road and Hwy. 129.

On Monday, Hall County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Oliver proposed building the library — originally intended for about 40 acres in Clermont — on the same Nopone Road site as the future North Hall park and community center.

The library board met at a special called meeting to hear from Hall County officials and Clermont residents about the plans for the North Hall library, to be funded by $3 million out of SPLOST VI.

County officials say building the library on the same property as the park and community center would cut costs and serve more people.

Hall County Geographical Information Systems Director Mark Lane presented demographic information about the two sites.
There are about 2,700 housing units in a five-mile radius of the Clermont property and nearly 8,000 housing units in the same radius of the Nopone Road site.

“Right now, North Hall residents drive all over the county for little league practice. They go to Gainesville, Murrayville, Clermont to meet their library service needs,” said Hall County Public Information Officer Nikki Young. “This is one spot we can meet all those needs, and it’s at a central location in a crossroads people pass every day in North Hall.”

Young said the Nopone Road site would be the most equitable site because it would be more available to more people, as opposed to the Clermont site, just a few miles from the White County line.

“It’s responsible use of our taxpayer money,” Young said.

But for the many Clermont residents who came out to the meeting, the issue was with a broken promise.

Before the special purpose local option sales tax vote in March, residents were told that if the SPLOST passed, there would be money available to upgrade the small Clermont library branch.

“If you bait and switch, I don’t think that’s right,” said Douglas Aiken, who serves on Clermont’s library board. “We’ve got 44 acres (in Clermont) the county bought for this purpose and then, all the sudden, bingo, we got a new plan.”

Others questioned the need to make a decision so quickly when Clermont has been told for years that it would someday get a new library.

“All of the sudden there’s this huge rush,” said Sandra Cantrell of Clermont. “I think it’s important we have all the facts.”

Clermont City Councilman John Brady said the need for a library is clear; the city has used part of its modest budget for the past 30 years to operate the facility.

“We need and we deserve a library in Clermont,” Brady said.

Hall County Commissioner Steve Gailey, who represents North Hall, said he will try to delay the vote at the commission’s board meeting tonight.

Hall County library board member Carlyle Cox made a motion to recommend the county proceed with building the library on the Nopone Road site. The motion passed 6-4.

The library board’s decision is not binding. It is a recommendation for the Hall County Board of Commissioners, which will vote on the issue at 5 p.m. at the Georgia Mountains Center.