PERRYVILLE--Architects from St. Louis plan to meet with the Riverside Regional Library Board of Directors tonight at 7 at the Perryville Library to discuss plans for the Perry County Multipurpose Building.

Monday, the Perry County Commission passed a resolution approving up to $500,000 in tax-anticipation notes for preliminary work on the center. The city and county have set up a not-for-profit corporation known as Perry County Multipurpose Center Inc. to oversee construction and operation of the center.

The project is proceeding on schedule.

Voters approved a $9.5 million bond issue and a half-cent sales tax to pay it off and pay operating costs of the center. Since shoppers don't start paying the tax until April 1, the corporation won't have any money to spend for several months.

The architects, members of Ittner and Associates, have made minor changes in the plan shown publicly before last November's election.

The basic plan remains the same: Build the facility around the existing swimming pool in Perryville, enclose it, include a 400-seat theater, a gym with bleachers for 1,500, racquetball courts, exercise facilities and a new library, said Glen Graham, president of the corporation.

The only changes would move a concession stand and some storage spaces to make moving around the building easier and better use space, Graham said.

Last Thursday the center board held the first of a series of weekly meetings with the Ittner architects. "Now we'll have a more concerted effort," Graham said.

Having the facility will mean Perry County could have its own community theater and a state-of-the-art library, Graham said. It also means Perryville can host large high-school basketball tournaments, and county residents will have a year-round swimming facility, said Todd Petzoldt, board secretary of the corporation.

"It will be a place where you can drop the kids off in the pool and go use the library," Graham said.

Petzoldt said he expects the project to be completed in 1999.