Carl Laundrie was there at the beginning: in the 1980s, when County Commissioner Merhl Shoemaker started pushing for a new library in Palm Coast, when Palm Coast wasn’t much more than a subdivision. And he was there on Thursday, when the county officially opened its new South Side library, known as the Nexus Center, on Commerce Parkway in Bunnell.
“I was lucky enough to be in the room as a reporter, when Merhl Shoemaker, the first Palm Coast Commission member, turned to the other four members of the County Commission and said, ‘We got to build a library,’” Laundrie recalled.
Shoemaker, who died in 1996, had been the first resident of Palm Coast to serve on the Flagler County Commission, serving from 1980 to 1992. Laundrie was a reporter for the News-Journal at the time. He is now a board member and past president of the Friends of the Library. Shoemaker was also president of the Friends of the Library when the library was a storefront at Palm Harbor Shopping Center, now Island Walk.
Shoemaker died in 1996, after ITT had donated 19 acres for a library on Palm Coast Parkway. On October 19, 1998, Laundrie was there, reporting on the groundbreaking for a 30,000-square-foot, $2.1 million library, or just $4.6 million in today’s dollars.
So it was quite a circle for Laundrie to witness Thursday’s grand opening and gala of the $16 million, 23,000-square-foot Nexus Center, so called because it is also the new home of the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
When Laundrie became the county’s chief spokesperson and communications director, he was responsible for writing the release announcing the hiring of Holly Albanese as the new library director, who’d taken over for the retiring Doug Cisney. That was in June 2006. Albanese’s very first thought? “One of her primary goals will be to move the tiny Bunnell branch of the county library from its storefront location on State Road 100 to its own building, she said,” according to a News-Journal report at the time.
It took only 19 years, with an interregnum of several years when Bunnell had its own library downtown, where the post office used to be, before the county kicked it to the curb again.
“She’s the one who achieved it. She’s the firecracker behind it all,” Laundrie said (he had also worked with Albanese on the county’s centennial celebration in 2017).
“It feels like home,” Albanese said. She’s moved her office there from the Palm Coast branch. “I’m at the library. I love the library. No matter which one it is, it feels like home.”
The hundred-page punch list the workers were going through a few weeks ago is all but completed. Some 30,000 to 40,000 volumes have filled the shelves, with more “collection development” ahead, now that the Bunnell branch is no longer constrained by the matchbox-sized facility it occupied at Marvin’s Garden until Nov. 30. The $1,800 a month paid for that facility has ceased.
“I think what we’ve created here is a true jewel, and I think a great community resource,” Albanese said. “So I hope everybody loves it. I’m just proud of what we’ve accomplished here.”
An impressive throng of people turned up for the ribbon-cutting and gala Thursday evening as Albanese and County Chair Leann Pennington led the celebration, first on the building’s front porch, then inside as people toured, gaped and, in the case of 8-year-old Madeleyn O’Brien, got right to reading in the children’s room. No surprise: Madeleyn happens to be the granddaughter of Wendi and Donald O’Brien, the former county commissioner and current chair of the Library Board of Trustees, and an omnivorous reader.
Every official interviewed at the opening remarked on the distinctiveness of the building’s architecture and its elegant color and thematic schemes—classically modern on the outside (picture a miniature version of Philip Johnson’s famous AT&T Building in New York), wavy and leisurely on the inside. “I can’t get over the color scheme and the art, the way it looks in there,” Commissioner Greg Hansen said. “It feels like a library should be.” He said the new library “helps ease the pain of leaving this job.” Hansen is not running again as his term ends in less than a year.
Commissioner Dave Sullivan described the library’s interior as “a friendly feeling,” and Commissioner Kim Carney liked the ample parking and room for expansion. (See: “A Tour of New Nexus Center Is a ‘Coast to Country’ Surfing Experience in Flagler’s Ultra-Modern Library.”)
“For much that we went through to get to this point,” Pennington said as she was preparing to address the large crowd, “I think that the people of the west side are really going to appreciate having services, because it’s just an underserved community in general. So I’m hoping that the people of Bunnell take advantage of this opportunity.”
“It’s an outstanding building. I think it gives Sheriff Staly’s Sheriff’s Center a run for its money,” she said with a laugh: The Sheriff’s Operations Center was just across the street, and it was Pennington who, unaware of the sloshing it would entail, carried the water on Sheriff’s Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge’s behalf to rename the Operations Center after Staly.
The 50,000-square-foot building across the street actually sits on land that was initially slated for the library, as Jim Ulsamer, the just-retired and long-time chair of the library board said, just as Pennington began the dedication. Then came the push to put the Operations Center there instead.
“That was the time when I got up at a meeting and said ‘over my dead body,’” the characteristically candid Ulsamer said. “He got it anyway.” But being at the opening of the new library was a capstone for Ulsamer, and “the only thank you I want.”
Jay Tomm says
Waste of money! Spend it on roads & things the county NEEDS. Not another library!
Skibum says
Says you.
Take away books, take away exercising the mind, take away knowledge, history, culture, science, geography, adventure, etc. and you are not doing anyone any favors. Libraries and all that they have available to young and old alike are essential for development of the brain, so they are important for young people. They enhance critical thinking and keep those brain cells stimulated, so they are important for older adults as well.
Who in the world would be foolish enough to stand up and admit they are against having libraries… unless you were the idiot convicted felon, fraudster, sex abuser, pedophile protecting occupier of our nation’s WH who has said he loves the uneducated. Not great company to be associated with. Just saying.
Jay Tomm says
I didn’t say all that! BULLY!
I said the county RIGHT NOW doesn’t need a new library. I need my streets fixed, I NEED traffic reduced, I NEED by utilities to go down, I NEED my property tax to go down….. Things EVERY Flagler person NEEDS.
They had 2 libraries! They still have 2 libraries…Nothing NEW.
Skibum says
“I” need, “I” need, “I” need. There is no “I” in WE, the people.
I hate to disappoint you, Jay, but there really are, no kidding, many people in the local community who do NEED this new library. The county recognized that need when they decided to locate it close to Bunnell so those folks in the southern part of the county can access all that this new building has to offer.
The local taxes you and I pay, after all, are for their benefit too.
Pogo says
That’s the spirit
… ought to fit nicely on the Entablature of your crypt.
Michael J Cocchiola says
Jay, it is evident that you don’t use the library. But if you did, you would notice the flow of Flagler County citizens enjoying the library’s programs — 20,000 visits per month in the Palm Coast library alone.
It’s not only the books, which are phenomenal, but it’s also the availability of research tools for students, job seekers, and local authors and historians. It’s about reading programs for children, a quiet place for teens to write papers or do homework, and personal growth programs for all ages. Our seniors learn to use a computer or a smartphone, take cooking classes, practice yoga, watch movies, learn gardening, enjoy the guest speakers, and applaud entertainers on special occasions.
The library is a community learning center. It makes knowledge fun. Stop by and talk to some of the visitors. You’ll surely become a member of the Friends of the Library, Flagler (flaglerlibrary.org).
Skibum says
Thank you! Your response to Jay was much better, much more informative, than mine.
Robert Cuff says
A wonderful resource for a growing community. Congratulations and thanks to all who worked so hard to make it happen.
Tired of it says
Truly an accomplishment for Ms. Albanese. What a truly wonderful addition to our county. Interesting to see some of the naysayers who tried to stop this from happening, smiling, front and center at the opening. As for anyone who thinks it wasn’t needed…tell that to the 20,000 plus that use the existing library…every month.
Monica Campana says
Proud of Flagler for this positive community building achievement. You are touching the future.
Larry says
Looking forward to visiting the new library in Bunnell. It’s a big asset for people of all ages and all income levels.
Erod says
Concerns Regarding the New Nexus Center
I have several concerns about the new Nexus Center and whether it genuinely serves the needs of Flagler County residents:
1. Location and Accessibility
The center is located within the Government Services Complex, which is not easily accessible for many residents—especially children, teens, and students. Because Flagler County lacks adequate public transportation, many people who would benefit from the center simply won’t be able to get there without a parent or private vehicle. A community resource that requires reliable transportation automatically excludes a large portion of the population.
2. Limited Hours of Operation (“Bankers’ Hours”)
Based on the schedule, it appears the Nexus Center will operate primarily during standard weekday “bankers’ hours,” with closures on Fridays and Saturdays. This severely limits access for school-age children, who are in the classroom most of the day, and for working residents who only have time on evenings and weekends. Saturday is traditionally a day when families and students have time to visit public resources—closing on that day seems counterproductive to community use.
3. Questionable Need for a Multimillion-Dollar Facility
When my daughter attended school in Flagler County, she was issued a laptop and had access to extensive online research tools, digital libraries, and educational platforms. Students today have even more digital access. This raises the question: why was a multimillion-dollar physical center necessary, especially at a location that is less convenient than existing facilities?
4. Missed Opportunity to Improve Existing, More Convenient Locations
Instead of constructing a costly new center in an inconvenient location, wouldn’t it have been more effective to invest those funds into upgrading current community facilities—libraries, schools, and neighborhood centers that are already positioned within residential areas and easier for families and students to reach?
Does anybody ever think of the realities and practicalities before writing handing over a blank check ?
Richard Henderson says
But why Nexis? What the heck does that mean to anyone? Sounds like a place you might go for hair removal.
just wait for it says
It cost way more than $16 Million, more like $23 Million and up. Didn’t Holly go to the board about 8 months ago asking for more money? plus that price does not include everything inside the building, just the building. County IT had to do a lot of the wiring for all that hi-tech equipment that’s in there.
I think the residents deserve to know the real cost so we know just how much of a waste it was.