RADCLIFF, Ky. — A group in Radcliff is fighting to keep the city’s library building from being sold.
Hardin County’s North Branch Library, located in Radcliff, was closed during the pandemic. The county says there wasn’t enough money in the budget to keep it operating after a proposed library tax was shot down.
However, some city leaders in Radcliff had hopes it would eventually reopen so library services could be restored to their community. That was—until a couple of weeks ago when they found out the county put the building up for bid.
What You Need To Know
- Group is protesting and spreading awareness to prevent Hardin County’s Fiscal Court from selling the old library building in Radcliff
- The county put the building up for bid after closing the north branch library down during the pandemic
- The county says there isn’t money to operate both the branch in Radcliff and the main library in Elizabethtown
- Radcliff city leaders are pleading with the fiscal court to give the building a little more time so the incoming administration can look into whether additional library funding could be provided
On Tuesday, July 26, the county’s Judge Executive and magistrates voted to sell the old library building to the highest bidder. There were three bids, but in the end the Hardin County School District's $300,000 bid was the highest.
The county says the money will go toward paying back repairs made to Elizabethtown Library building’s leaking roof.
Current Radcliff City Council member Toshie Murrell and former city council member TW Shortt, who’s now running for one of the magistrate positions, urged others to join them in getting the word out about saving the library building.
They hoped to stall the potential sale. Their reasoning is that a new Judge Executive and at least six new magistrates will be elected in November, and they’d like to see that new group have the say on the North Branch’s fate, rather than the outgoing administration.
“All we’re asking for is in the next five months, not to sell the building, leave it like it is,” Murrell explained. “It’s been vacant for over two years. Let the new administration have the opportunity to see if it’s feasible and findable to reopen the library.”
Shortt added, “We just don’t want to lose the one opportunity we have, which is this building behind us.”
The spot is central to a lot of Radcliff neighborhoods and is right across the street from the area’s large high school, North Hardin High School.
People in the Radcliff area now have to drive nearly 20 minutes to Hardin County’s only remaining library in Elizabethtown. However, it’s a much farther drive from some other cities within the county.
“I’ve even heard from West Point, Vine Grove, the outside cities that make up Hardin County,” Murrell said. “We all make up Hardin County. We’re all taxpayers into this public service that they have removed from us.”
Murrell, Shortt and other leaders in Radcliff are organizing a protest in front of the old north branch library building on S. Logsdon Rd. in Radcliff. It’s taking place Monday night from 6 to 8 p.m.