After years of discussions about the need for more space, the Rappahannock County Public Library Board of Trustees is considering a move to relocate to the Rush River Commons development in the Town of Washington.

The board voted Mar. 9 to sign a non-binding agreement to explore the option of leasing a building — as yet not constructed — within the second phase of the Rush River development located near the Warren Avenue entrance to the town. While the agreement does not guarantee a move, it advances planning and conversations about whether the idea could meet the needs and constraints of both the Rush River developer and the library. 

The non-binding agreement expires in 90 days, according to representatives from Rush River and the library board. 

“The only thing we know for certain is there’s a community desire for an expanded library, space and programs. We are not going to be able to fundraise to be able to provide what we’ve outlined with the 9,000 square foot library at our current location, therefore we are open to this conversation,” said Elizabeth Conley, chair of the board’s communications committee.

Over the past 10 years or so, library director Amanda Weakley said, programming grew substantially, particularly events for children and teens, and the board began exploring ways to expand the facility.

In recent years, the board considered a plan to fund an expansion of the library at its current site — which opened in 1991 — through philanthropic donations. Working with an architect and community feedback, a roughly 9,000-square-foot facility was designed to accommodate additional programming space, youth areas and gathering spaces.

But a feasibility study conducted last year to determine whether the roughly $6 million needed for the project could be raised found the campaign would be extremely difficult to complete.

“This was not going to be a substantial lift, but an impossible one,” board member Patti McGill Peterson said.

Rush River Commons’ project spokesperson Betsy Dietel said the idea of including the library had surfaced in the community over the past several years, and the development team sees potential benefits in locating the library alongside other community amenities planned for the site — including a community center and office space.

“This is just a really exciting, wonderful next chapter to Rush River’s … final build-out, and we’re optimistic that this is a good move forward,” Dietel said. “Having the library next door to a community center, and being part of the larger campus … it all makes a lot of sense.”

“Obviously, phase one is very successful, and we hope the same for phase two,” said the development’s founder and financial backer, Chuck Akre.

The newly-signed agreement allows both sides to explore whether a library could realistically be incorporated into the development’s second phase, including bringing architects together to review possible designs and constraints.

“We have basically committed to further exploration,” McGill Peterson said. “We’re going to go forward in what I would refer to as a good faith effort to try to see if we can move forward … getting people on the ground, getting architects together to say, ‘Okay, here’s what the library would like, and here’s what you (Rush River Commons) are bound by.’”

Dietel said the library would likely be incorporated into the office building planned for the development, though any changes would require review and approval by the Town of Washington. If the library were to move, rent would have to be paid and site maintenance fees, versus the current building which is paid off and owned outright. 

“I think there’s a desire to move it along as expeditiously as possible,” McGill Peterson said. 

Conley said the board also hopes to gather community feedback as discussions continue.