MAITLAND, Fla. — Early voting is underway and one referendum on the ballot for Maitland residents is sparking lots of conversation.

It has to do with the library and whether voters will approve $14 million in public bond financing to build a new one.

For over 115 years, the Maitland Public Library has been a place for generations to learn and grow. Something Mayor John Lowndes has always admired. 

“It’s got a lot of history in it, it’s been here since 1907,” said Lowndes. “Plenty of generations of people have come through and walked through these stacks, so it’s built up a lot of Maitland’s identity through the years.”

But now the future of the building is in the hands of voters who will decide if the library should grow into a proposed two story, 20,000 square foot structure near the perimeter of Quinn Strong Park. Lowndes explained that, while beloved, the current building needs a lot of work. 

“The building is limited, and it is not up to a lot of the codes that we would like it to be,” he said. “It is cramped, there’s too much activity for too little space. At this point and the resident of Maitland could probably use a larger facility, a 21st century facility that is up to date with all the technology that we use today.”

While many voters are in support of the move, others have raised concerns, especially over the $18.7 million price tag for the project. It is an estimate Lowndes says was given by the architectural firm. While the city already has $5 million set aside, the rest would come from taxpayers.

That is a concern for some residents, who shared that on fixed incomes they can’t afford more taxes. Spectrum News asked Lowndes if other options were explored, like joining the Orange County Library System, but he shared residents actually save money with their library by avoiding the Orange County millage rate. 

“That service is not free. It’s something the taxpayers pay for and I would argue that it is a vital service to the city of Maitland,” he said. “I would hope that people would agree with that and agree that their tax money is being well spent towards that end.”

Others questioned just how vital it actually is, asking how much the current library is actually used, and if a new one is necessary. 

According to Maitland’s library staff, last fiscal year, over 100,000 items were checked out by nearly 9,000 resident library card holders and 1,400 reciprocal borrowers. That’s nearly double the number of checked out items compared to the neighboring Altamonte Springs library, where over 16,000 library card holders took home just over 48,000 items. 

“In our view, this is an asset that is worth the money that we would put into it and we think it would be a great public asset to have,” said Lowndes.

Lowndes asserted that he understands people have differing views on the project, and hopes everyone casts a ballot for a Maitland they’d want to live in. 

“That’s the thing. People really need to make a reasoned decision about the future here and I think if you sit down and you look at the uses and you look at the numbers, this makes the most sense for us,” he said. “If people decide this is not the way they’d like to do it, we really will just have to live within the current library that we have.”

Lowndes explained at the moment there are no plans for the current library if the new library gets approved, so they would need to find a new public purpose for it.

Residents have until March 19 to cast their ballots and make their voices heard in the Florida Presidential Preference Primary.