photo by: Contributed

A rendering of a pavilion planned for the Lawrence Public Library lawn.

With the green light from the Lawrence City Commission, the Lawrence Public Library’s effort to put a pavilion and performance space on its lawn should soon be underway.

On Tuesday, the commission approved a minor change to its lease agreement with the library that will let the library erect the permanent structure on its lawn. The commission had some minor questions about responsibilities for maintenance work; city staff told commissioners the library would be responsible for maintaining the pavilion.

Mayor Brad Finkeldei said the city had had this project on its Capital Improvement plan for years, “trying to have a facility there that you can host things with.”

“And the fact that we were never able to fund it, and to have the (Lawrence Public Library Friends & Foundation) … step forward and fund this and then take care of it is going to be a great step forward for downtown,” Finkeldei said Tuesday.

As the Journal-World reported, the Friends & Foundation raised more than $400,000 for the pavilion and various other projects at its annual After Hours fundraiser, a record amount for the event.

Library staff has said the pavilion could be used for things like outdoor movie nights and shows by local musicians and the Lawrence Arts Center.

“They’ve got the site plan approved, so now we’re moving on to getting the construction work done,” library executive director Brad Allen told the commission. “It’s been a long time coming, and we’re really excited.”

The Journal-World reached out to the library for more details about the construction timeline, but had not heard back about that as of 5 p.m. Friday.