A new library is likely to be built on land adjacent to Denmark High School, per discussion at a Board of Commissioners work session Tuesday.

At the May 23 meeting, Brent Pierce with GreenbergFarrow Architecture, the firm handling the master plan for a 9.5-acre tract of land the county purchased in late-December by what will be the Forsyth’s sixth high school campus, presented several blueprints for the site, which were drawn to include a library and an athletic practice field.

Previously, the plan included a sheriff’s office substation, but Sheriff Ron Freeman ultimately decided against the idea, largely because Denmark will have a school resource officer on campus, he said.

Pierce presented three options to commissioners, two of which included the practice field and one that only included a library.

The cheapest, which solely featured the library, would cost the county $4.3 million and includes a park and outdoor restrooms.

Pierce said having no park or outdoor restrooms would reduce the price by $400,000, bringing the total to $3.9 million.

Commission Chairman Todd Levent said the price did not include a library building.

“Keep in mind, that’s just to grade their land and put in a parking lot – that’s not even to put in a building yet,” he said.

The funds for the building would likely come out of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST VIII, should voters approve a new round of the 1 percent sales tax that has been in effect in Forsyth County since 1983.

Forsyth County Public Library Director Anna Lyle said they have asked for about $11 million in SPLOST VIII funds for the new library.

The Post Road Library, the four-branch system’s most recently built location, cost about $6-7 million.

“We’re hoping for this one to be a 32,000-

square-foot building,” Lyle said. “Post Road is 24,000; [with this one], we’re trying to start out larger instead of needing to expand later.”

The Sharon Forks Library, which is currently undergoing an expansion, is 20,500 square feet.

Lyle said she thinks the library would be welcomed.

“It’s really good for us to be neighbors with a high school,” she said. “It’s a real win-win situation and seems as good as we are able to find after having looked for a number of years.”

While the board did not take any official action regarding the plan, they asked GreenbergFarrow to continue to work with the library board to bring back a more defined plan.

The final plan will likely not include an athletic field.