El Dorado Springs Cedar County Library building project update

Fund raising continues for the new Cedar County Library in El Dorado Springs.  Initial projections for the proposed building were close to one million dollars as quoted in 2020; however, as you well know the latter part of 2020 brought about many challenges.  One of those challenges has been rising building costs.  What was anticipated to be a one million dollar building project has now become a two million dollar project.   

Needless to say, this has created a setback for the project.  Our initial fund raising campaign was successful raising close to $300,000 for the project which was not far off of goal.  That $300,000 along with past designated money for a new El Dorado Springs Library facility and a small loan brought us close enough to begin planning a start date.  When bids came in early this spring, the proposed cost doubled what we were expecting. 

Although discouraged, the Cedar County Library Board of Trustees and staff have not given up on our plan for a new library.  We are currently looking at the original building design and considering modifications to the building plan that will be less expensive to build.  This may mean a bit smaller building and alternative building material with less brick and mortar. 

We so appreciate the support of our community and are so grateful for all the donations for this worthy project.  Our fund raising campaign will be ongoing. 

We are seeking construction bids on a revised building plan and if these cost estimates fall within our budget, we will be back on track for getting a new library building for the Cedar County Library El Dorado Springs Branch.    

Stay tuned; the Cedar County Library District is dedicated to this building project for the El Dorado Springs community.  We will be providing updates as we have more information available.