LIBERTY TWP. — For the first time since it was proposed, Liberty Township and West Chester leaders will meet next month to discuss a new library to serve the area's burgeoning population.

        Most trustees in the two townships say they agree the library on Cox Road, just south of Tylersville Road, is too small to continue serving the 78,000 residents in the area.

        But some trustees say the proposed 100,000-square-foot library is too luxurious, and they don't want to further tax residents.

        “I am not convinced we need a building eight times the size of the present library,” West Chester Trustee President Jose Alvarez said Tuesday.

        “In today's climate, it is important we are very careful with asking folks for more taxes. Trying to make it the most prestigious library in the area seems to me to be out of kilter with the present fiscal constraints we are trying to promote in the township.”

        The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 9 at Liberty Township Hall off Princeton Road.

        Earlier this summer, a committee with the Middletown Public Library System proposed building a state-of-the-art library, possibly at the Voice of America Park in West Chester.

        The current 15,000-square-foot library was built in 1983, has expanded twice to accommodate the growing population and has no more room.

        The new library would cost about $15 million, not including contents.

        Preliminary estimates show that a 1.39-mill tax levy for construction and library operations would generate about $2.6 million a year. For the owner of a $100,000 home, the levy would mean about $42 a year in new taxes.

        It is too late to place a levy on the fall ballot. The soonest an election could be held would be in the spring. But that might come too fast for leaders to have enough time to educate voters about the issue, Mr. Alvarez said.

        Also at issue is whether the townships legally could jointly tax residents for the library, he said. “That's a very gray area,” he said. “There are a lot of uncertainties and I would like to proceed very cautiously.”

        A survey the library conducted showed that the 1,599 residents who responded overwhelmingly want a new library and larger book selection.

        Other things on the wish list: plenty of seating, adequate parking, a drive-up window, data port access, meeting rooms and cafeteria or vending rooms.

        The library's circulation growth averaged 7 percent each of the past few years, placing it second after Cincinnati/Hamilton County's main branch as the busiest library in Southwest Ohio.

        Libraries that serve communities similar in size and demographics average 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, library officials have said.

        Liberty Township Trustee Christine Matacic said she sees a need to look at alternatives for relieving the library. She noted quarters are very tight for library staff and parking spots are sparse at peak times.

        “Maybe it's building a bigger library or maybe it's building another branch,” Ms. Matacic said. “We are growing like crazy, trying to keep up with the schools.”

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