REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - On Monday, Commissioners of Rehoboth Beach and the Rehoboth Beach Public Library explored options for the city in the case that the library wants to sell the downtown lots it will no longer need.
Tucker Kokjohn is on the Library Board of Trustees and he wants more people to be able to use the library more often.
He says, "Three quarters of people in our service area won't come into town into the library, so we are abandoning...we have abandoned the rest of the service area."
Some community members are worried about the change. One person at the meeting voiced, "I still have concerns about what the library presence will look like. We need to be a part of this process. For myself, I would love to see the whole building stay as it is."
According to the Commissioners, an agreement signed in 1992 gives the city a few options in the case that the library wants to sell one of the lots it doesn't want to use.
In an anticipated sale of the lot, the city can not allow that and take the lot back. The city can elect to exercise a right of first refusal, which allows the library to market the lot and if the library gets a buyer, the city can elect to purchase all three lots for the buyers price, minus fair market value of lot 76, because that lot was conveyed to the library for no cost. Or, the library could sell the property but would need to pay the city fair market value of lot 76 and improvements.
According to the Board of Trustees, it has support from the state and neighboring communities for another location. It says whatever renovations are eventually decided on for the current library will be complete by 2026 or 2027.