The city’s library is in redesign phases for its expansion project that will be detailed at tonight’s city council meeting.

The city council meets in the council chambers at 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of the municipal building at Sixth Street and Jackson Avenue.

The library project is in the preliminary design stages, and, at the meeting, fund raising as well as grant programs will be discussed for the project’s funding.

Also at the meeting, the council may vote on a new franchise agreement with Mediacom cable company. Cougill has previously said that before the council agrees, it will first address problems he predicts in the future. One of those future problems is HD TV.

By the year 2010, HD TV, High Definition Television, will be referred to as “regular TV,” and so Cougill predicts everyone will rush out to buy a new TV suitable to carry HD TV just as they did with color TV.

Before making a decision on the cable contract, the council will address the HD TV issue and ensure they are capable of supporting HD TV in addition to other issues so they can ensure good service.

Also on its agenda, the council will be awarding a bid to for the construction of a statue emulating the Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate that occurred in 1858 in Coles County. Somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 people watched at the fairgrounds about three miles from Lincoln Avenue off of University Drive and State Street.

The statue will cost $10,000 and will be put in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum in Charleston.

Additionally, the council may vote on an agreement authorizing the widening of Polk Avenue. Cougill said the city would like to widen the street from Division to Seventh Street beginning next year.