Mt. Brydges library likely to open in early 2017

Phase one of the Mt. Brydges library repair is now complete, but it will still be few months before the community hub opens its doors again to local residents. 

The library sustained severe damage to its structure after a fire, likely caused by a lighting strike, that broke out in the basement of the building back in June.

Andrew Meyer, director of community and cultural services for the municipality, said they are now expecting to reopen the library in January 2017.

“We have just gotten down to the point where the smoke remediation and removal are at an acceptable level, and the next step is now to repair the building,” he said.

Meyer explained he expects the renovation process to take approximately three more months, plus a few weeks to furnish the space and bring all the books and equipment needed before the library opens.

“The wait now is on our insurance because we have a third party, claim examiner who is going to examine all the costs associated with the project and determine the legitimacy of the costs and give the approval to move forward,” he said. “This should happen in a week or so.”

Initial estimates were projected at $500,000 in damages including the building itself and all the library’s material.

Since then, however, Meyer said the cost has gone down to between $350,000 to $400,000, as the library was able to salvage about 80 per cent of the books it had at the location; this has also forced the municipality to ask residents to hold their book donations.

“The community has been overwhelming with their offers of support in terms of donations, but we have kindly said, ‘Thank you for your generosity, but there’s no need of books at this time,’” Meyer said.

He also mentioned that the community support has been visible in the way local residents have embraced the temporary library location at the Caradoc Community Centre opened a few weeks after the fire.

Yet, he understands people’s desire to go back to their usual space, as it allows library staff to offer a greater variety of programs to the community.

“In the interim, (the temporary location) has been a good solution,” he said. “But people are definitely eager to get back to their library.”

jjuha@postmedia.com

 

Distroscale

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