As crews prepare to start building a bigger and better Powell Library, the walls of the old facility are tumbling down.

Contractors began demolishing the structure at the corner of Third and Clark streets last week and the demo work is expected to continue through early October, according to Groathouse Construction Vice President Rob Bauer. The Cody-based firm is serving as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) on the project.

Depending on when the design is finalized, Bauer hopes to start pouring concrete this winter, followed by about 12 months of construction. If all the stars align, “we could be wrapped up as early as Christmas in 2025,” he told the Powell City Council at its Aug. 19 meeting.

The not-quite-finalized floor plan for the one-level 14,000 square foot building features an open concept design “so that it can change over time and decades,” Park County Library Director Karen Horner said in an interview. Beyond a children’s section and quiet area for adults, the plan includes a “huge” meeting room for around 80 people, an activity room, two or three study rooms, a space dedicated to teenagers and an area for the Friends of the Powell Library, with a large, round circulation desk at the center, Horner said.

County personnel are working with the architects to ensure there’s suitable space for staff, but Horner said they’re also trying to make sure those employee areas don’t take up too much of the building. The old library was about 12,450 square feet, but only about 9,000 was usable, officials have said, so the new facility should bring a significant increase.

The State of Wyoming kickstarted the project last year by awarding $8.4 million worth of federal funding, and Park County commissioners then agreed to commit up to $3.2 million.

To make way for the work, the Powell Library moved to Homesteader Hall at the Park County Fairgrounds in May. And now that construction is getting underway, the nearby sidewalks on Third and Clark streets and over a dozen parking spaces have been closed until the job is completed. The alley behind the old library and the Union Presbyterian Church is also being fenced off for at least a month.

“We think it’s going to be safer for the public,” Bauer said of the closures.

He added that, with the limited area the crews have to work in, “any space we have is going to help us [with] time and getting it done sooner.”

While he supported the closures, Councilman Geoff Hovivian predicted that the city will “hear a lot of griping and groaning.” During the school year, the Clark Street spots are “always full” during dropoff and pickup times at Powell Middle School, Hovivian said.

However, City Administrator Zack Thorington suggested the spots might not have been as popular this year, since the library is no longer there. After the library moved to the fairgrounds, he said the parking spots were rarely used.

Park County Commissioner Scott Mangold, a former Powell mayor, also spoke in support of the closures. Having less space available at the construction site would mean more heavy truck traffic back and forth, Mangold said, and he noted there’s a bit of a time crunch on the federal money. Under the conditions of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, “some of it has to be spent very quickly,” Mangold said.

For Thorington, the closure of the Bent/Clark street alleyway behind the library was more concerning than the parking spots. Because the turn into the one-way alley is tight from Third Street, Thorington said heavy trucks often enter from Fourth Street — traveling south past the library en route to downtown businesses.

The city could potentially remove the one-way restriction in the alley or switch its direction from south to north, Mayor John Wetzel offered; that would allow trucks to directly enter from Coulter Avenue/U.S. Highway 14A.

The only reason the downtown alleys were made one way was to prevent teenagers from “cruising” main street, Wetzel said.

Thorington recalled that the change was made during his senior year at Powell High School.

“... we had to get used to going the other way,” Thorington said with a laugh.

Ultimately, the council unanimously agreed to an initial four-week closure of the alley, with Thorington indicating the city can watch and see if that causes problems.