The Goodnight Memorial Library in Franklin will undergo a $4.2 million expansion next year aimed primarily at updating the library’s auditorium.

Director Audrey Phillips said the library wants to improve the auditorium because it sees a lot of use as the only such facility in the county.

“It’s in need of repair,” she said. “The seats are old. They’re coming out of the floor.”

Phillips also wants to move the auditorium’s dressing rooms into the basement below the stage, she said.

The library has had no significant improvements since the early 1980s, when a sprinkler system and an HVAC system were installed, Phillips said.

Other changes Phillips wants during the renovations include building a second story over an expansion made to the library in 1976, replacing the elevator, renovating the building’s exterior and converting a meeting room into more library space that would include a staircase leading to the second floor. Whether the library can afford to complete those projects remains to be seen, however.

“We want to do it all, but the auditorium is our main concern,” she said.

The $4.2 million the library will use to fund the renovation comes mainly from the library’s current tax base and will not require a tax increase, Phillips said.

Phillips expects to put the project out for bid in March or April. She expects the library will close for the renovations Aug. 1, 2018, and remain closed for roughly 15 months. During the renovation process, the library’s materials will be moved to a “vacant industrial building” on Brown Road off Ky. 1008, she said.

“It’s right off a main thoroughfare so we can get people there with signage,” she said.

Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson described the library’s auditorium as “an extremely important asset to Franklin and Simpson County.” He said the facility is a regular venue for performances like school plays, church concerts and dance recitals.

Henderson said there have been numerous discussions through the years about how best to maintain and preserve the auditorium.

“It’s very unusual to have something like that in a small town and it’s something to be cherished,” he said.

Brownie Bennett, executive director of the Franklin-Simpson Community Arts Council, which holds an event in the library’s auditorium several times a year, said she’s excited about the improvements that will be made to the auditorium. In the past, the state of the auditorium has been an obstacle for potential audience members, she said.

“We’ve had times where people said, ‘We’re not coming to a show because the seats are uncomfortable,’ which is true,” she said.

The uneven stage could also use repairs, Bennett said.

“That’ll help also with the noise because there’s some creaking and cracking when you walk on some parts of the stage,” she said.

However, Bennett expressed concern about the idea of the auditorium being closed for renovations for a year or more.

Bennett said numerous alternatives are possible during that time, such as using a local gymnasium for events such as concerts or shows that don’t require a set. Larger events could be held in rented facilities in nearby communities such as Bowling Green, although the arts council couldn’t afford to hold many events outside the county.

“If we do things in Franklin, we’ll have to do smaller things with less people,” she said.

Despite the lengthy period in which other venues would need to be secured, Bennett said the renovations would ultimately be good for the community by providing the county with a more up-to-date auditorium.

“In the long run, it’ll be worth it,” she said.