WARNER ROBINS -- Major renovations of the Nola Brantley Memorial Library are expected to begin by the end of November.

The Houston County Commission on Tuesday approved International City Builders as the contract manager for the project, estimated to cost $2 million.

Commissioner Larry Thomson, the liaison to the library board, said before the meeting that International City Builders will have 30 days to get prices from sub-contractors, then it will come back to the board with a guaranteed maximum price. If that price is over the estimated cost, Thomson said the board then must enter into negotiations or consider scaling back the project.

He expects work will begin by the end of November and will take about a year. Due to the extent of the renovations, the library operations will move to a former bank building across the street, on the east side of City Hall. Thompson said the temporary location will be a scaled-back operation, with most of the books kept in storage.

However, once the new branch reopens, it will be worth the wait for users, he said.

“It’s going to be really pretty,” he said. “It’s going to have a totally new front and rear, and the inside is going to be completely redone.”

The project will include an expansion of about 5,000 square feet.

The renovations are being funded by the 2006 special local option sales tax.

Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker said the work is much needed. He said he was at the library recently at about 9 a.m., and saw then how much it is used.

“I was shocked to see how many people were there that early in the morning,” he said.