Gibsonville has been growing at a steady rate for years and years, and longtime town Mayor Lenny Williams said this week that the town needs two things in a bad way: A police headquarters and a library. Williams said he and other town leaders are pursuing options to help fund those projects since they are key needs for the town and currently Gibsonville doesn’t have enough money for the projects.

Right now, Gibsonville’s police operations work out of a small office in the Gibsonville Town Hall and the town’s “library” is just some books and other materials that are kept and checked out of a section of an old elementary school.

Williams, who was just reelected to another term as mayor after over two decades in that job, said the need for those facilities is due in part to the town’s growth over the years.

While some small towns in Guilford County rely primarily on the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department for protection, the Gibsonville Police Department employs 24 sworn officers and an administrative assistant to protect and serve the town with a population of just over 9,000.

At the turn of the century, Gibsonville had about 4,300 residents.

Williams said the small town will need help with these two endeavors.

“We don’t have the money for a police station or a library,” Williams said, but he added that he was optimistic about finding funding.

He added that he was in the process of contacting Guilford County about some possible financing methods.

That could involve a combination of available funds, financial help from Guilford County and money from state, federal or private grants.

 Williams said he’s particularly interested in what grant money may be available for those two projects, and getting Guilford County’s help with the writing and sending out of grant applications.

He stressed that, in addition to the Police Department headquarters, getting a new library is also important.

“There’s no library between here and Greensboro,” he said.

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