The Montevallo City Council at its last meeting approved a preliminary budget of $1.7 million for a new library and community theater.

Prepared by the city building committee and members of the Parnell Memorial Foundation, the budget calls for a 7,081-square-foot library to replace the existing facility on Valley Street, including meeting space large enough to seat 125 children or 75 adults.

A proposed 4,188-square-foot adjoining theater for community productions is estimated at $120 per square foot for a total of more than $500,000, said Council member Sharon Anderson.

Anderson said the draft budget now will be handed over to an architect who will take the committees’ recommendations and incorporate them into plans for the library.

The plans will then go before the building committee for approval before being turned over to the library foundation for a six-month fundraising drive.

&uot;Perhaps in another year to year-and-a-half, we’ll have a new library,&uot; Anderson said.

Anderson emphasized that the council’s approval of the budget is not a commitment to fund the project. The city already has allocated $200,000 over the next four years for the new library as well as the money made from the sale of the existing library.

The city also has donated land adjacent to Orr Park across from Montevallo Elementary School as a site for the future library