Howard County Executive Calvin Ball is asking County Council to release $5 million in state funds placed in contingency for the upcoming fiscal year to continue planning a new Central Library branch.

The County Council approved $5 million in state funding in fiscal 2024 for conceptual design of the library and established a special contingency fund with another $5 million. Rules for using the contingency fund say the community must be engaged in the project plans and related contracts must be awarded to minority-owned businesses.

“With this additional funding, we will ensure that the appropriate resources are available to identify a final site for the library and advance planning to move the project forward,” Ball said in a news release.

A new Central Library branch in Columbia is included in the 2010 Downtown Columbia Plan, and Ball announced, alongside Gov. Wes Moore and other officials, plans in 2023 to build a 100,000 square-foot facility at the Columbia Lakefront on a site owned by the Howard Hughes Corp.

The library, which Moore called a “shining jewel,” was meant to serve as a community space and education center and Ball said at the time he anticipated a groundbreaking by 2026. But the project’s substantial price — about $144 million — caused some residents and officials to have reservations.

The county hired design consulting firm Arcadis to gather community input through a survey and four public meetings for comment. Through the survey, residents weighed in on a project timeline and alternate sites for the branch, including the Merriweather District, the old Lord & Taylor store at The Mall in Columbia and two Lakefront District sites.

About 1,500 people completed the survey, according to the news release. Respondents chose the current central library and the Lakefront site as preferred locations.

As plans became complicated, Carl DeLorenzo, director of policy and programs for the county executive, said Ball’s administration recommended during a November council meeting a market study as a next step in the process to help identify potential sources of revenue to pay for the project.

In December, the county hired the Maryland Economic Development Corp. to study “options for satisfying the parking requirements associated with the use of the Lakefront site” and the “revenue-generating potential” of a new central branch, the release said.

The 44-year-old Central Library branch had minor renovations in 2016, costing about $1.8 million, but otherwise hasn’t received a major renovation. The expectation is to replace the building not renovate it, according to the release. The library has submitted the most maintenance tickets of all the branches since January 2024, with 350 tickets. Most of the tickets were for continuing elevator issues, the release said.

“As a result, the existing Central Library branch has exceeded its useful life and is in great need of replacement, or a major renovation,” the release said.

The county has appropriated $5.488 million for the Central Library project to date, and according to documents obtained by The Sun, it’s spent $310,483 of that on work for community engagement and planning.

“Fifteen years after the passage of the plan, we are committed to realizing this project and replacing the existing Central Branch Library, which is past its useful life and experiencing regular maintenance challenges,” Ball said.

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