The Natrona County Public Library received $1 million from the McMurry Foundation on Thursday, two days after voters turned down a sales tax to fund a new building.

Board members now may reapproach the principal owners of the Casper Redevelopment Company LLC, the company that owns the land, said Board of Trustees President Chris Mullen.

Libraries are crucial to building better communities, said Mick McMurry, president of the McMurry Foundation and one of the principal partners in the Casper Redevelopment Company.

Mullen said his biggest worry right now is that the library will lose the ability to purchase the 8.8 acres near First Street and the North Platte River. He said it's the perfect piece of property for a new library and hopes there's some way it can still be used for that purpose.

The current option to purchase the property expires in December.

But Mullen, as well as Library Director Bill Nelson, said all ideas for the future of the money as well as a new library are simply speculation.

"There's a sense that we need to listen to the community and figure out what peoples' reactions were and what the folks would like us to proceed towards," Nelson said.

After formally accepting the money, Mullen promised McMurry, as well as Natrona County residents, that the $1 million would not be "squandered."

Which means, he said, that it will not be used for brick and mortar for the current building, since eventually the library will need to relocate. The money will be part of the library's endowment.

The current facility is on 1.5 acres and landlocked on the eastern edge of Casper's downtown.

Library officials asked the voters to approve a $43.25 million temporary sixth-cent sales tax to build the facility on the old American Pipeyard property. The measure failed on Tuesday by roughly 1,500 votes.

"We will try again," Mullen said. "The question is when."

For right now, library officials hope to collect opinions from residents on what they want and where they see the future of the library. They also say they want to continue serving county residents to promote literacy and education in the community.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com