City Council favors new library, less certain about paying for entertainment venue

It's Aug. 11. City Council OK with $10 million additional library cost, may use $5 million slated for entertainment project. Local utilities say they're safe from cyberhackers.

Williamsburg may use $5 million slated for proposed entertainment venue, left for new library, right (architect renderings)

Williamsburg City Council members still favor building a new downtown library at an increased cost of $37.2 million, and the city’s financial advisor assured them the city can afford to pay the increased debt.

But the city’s financial advisor said council should consider moving $5 million set aside for the proposed live entertainment venue to help pay for the library, and city officials left it up to the agency that would own the venue to figure out how to pay for it. (see story below)

At council’s Monday afternoon work session, City Manager Michele DeWitt walked through how the price of the library rose from $26.1 million to its current guaranteed price.