The board of supervisors are going the extra mile checking with the Department of Archives & History to be certain the building isn’t legally historic before awarding the demolition contract. Ryan LaFontaine at the Sun Herald has the story.
The old downtown library lives on, at least for a few more days.
The Harrison County Board of Supervisors was expected to hire a demolition firm Monday to break the old library to pieces and haul it off the beachfront property.
However, the county decided to delay the move until it hears back from the state Department of Archives & History on whether the old building has any historical value.
County officials said a report from FEMA determined the building had little historical value, but to be sure, the supervisors voted unanimously to check with the state Archives & History.
Members of a group of library lovers were at Monday’s meeting to support a push to save the old structure.
The county received 17 bids on the demolition. They ranged in price from about $87,000 to $200,000.
Officials at Archives & History must give the OK to any changes, including demolition, to a state or locally owned building, a department official told the Sun Herald.
Archives & History would need to award a demolition permit to the county. The permit committee meets Thursday.
Buildings that are 50 years old and older can be named a landmark, but buildings that have significant historical value also can be landmarks even if they aren’t 50. The Gulfport Library is 43 years old.