Park County Commissioner Dossie Overfield, coming to the end of her second term in office, said when she was first elected, the late Park County Library District board member and supporter, Pat Stuart said her most important task should be to get a new Powell Library.

Stuart was there in spirit as Overfield spoke on a chilly Friday afternoon in front of the doors leading to the new building on Third and Clark streets.

“It’s taken a while, but we’ve gotten there,” Overfield said. “Thank you, Powell, for supporting us. Have fun and enjoy your new library.”

After the obligatory ribbon cutting with help from representatives from Powell Economic Partnership, youths, parents with young kids, longtime residents and others poured into the new, 14,000 square foot library, getting out of the cold and into a brand new, wood and glass ringed building with a vaulted ceiling featuring skylights, a children’s area with a covered wagon, nooks for reading and, of course, stacks of books.

Westside fifth grader Graelyn Fluty curled up in a chair in a small nook with a book, while middle schoolers Hayden Tietema and Amara Linton sat on stools looking out the library’s front windows, tucking into gourmet cookies.

Meanwhile, in the children’s section, siblings Brooklyn and Brennan Floyd pretended to make a chuckwagon feast on the back of the wagon, while Kara Layton crawled up inside and emerged in a window with a big smile.

Before long, people were already walking out with books they had checked out — after two years in temporary space at the Park County Fairgrounds, and years before dealing with a building that just no longer filled the needs of the community, the Powell Library is again a center of the community.

“We know everybody else is excited. You guys have waited a long time, decades for a new library in Powell,” Park County Library District Director Karen Horner said, thanking the county commissioners and engineer, library board and foundation, Groathouse Construction and all others involved in the process, including the local library staff.

“It’s been a long process, and we are glad that it’s finally over and we can open it, and then when you come in, you will see it’s a gorgeous library. We tried our best to make it really represent Powell and we are anxious for you all to see it.”