Renovations and expansion of the downtown library in Fergus will start by mid-year after county council gave its approval to the final redesign plans.
The plan was presented to council on March 28 by architect Paul Sapounzi of VG Architects. He told council the $6-million project, including an estimated $750,000 from Centre Wellington for water and sewer, will preserve the historic nature of the century-old Carnegie library with a modern glass structure at the rear of the building overlooking the river.
The issues raised at county council included the loss of parking spaces and the cost of the project. There were similar concerns raised at a public meeting on the redesign a couple of weeks earlier.
Councillor Jean Innes abstained from voting to approve the redesign, although she added her concerns are not “huge.”
Innes was critical of the lack of public input during months of discussion on the project. She also noted a survey done by Centre Wellington Councillor Kelly Linton found about 83 per cent of slightly more than 300 respondents opposed the project because of its size and cost.
The councillor was also critical of remarks made by the architect, who said the library, when completed, will be a “showcase,” for the community.
“What he (Sapounzi) said is this is going to be a showcase,” Innes said. “What we’ve heard from the community is they want to maintain the small town charm. We don’t want it to be too grand.”
According to Sapounzi, the final design has integrated the heritage elements of the building and includes increased space for books and patrons to use the library.
Sapounzi said the exterior of the library will see bricks covering basement windows at the front removed to restore the building to its original appearance. The building will also be fully accessible at the front and side entrance and contain accessible washrooms and an elevator. The glassed-in addition at the rear will not be visible from the front of the original building to preserve the building’s heritage look, the architect added.
The building will be fully accessible to meet provincial requirements.
The front entryway will also have washrooms, the main library desk and at the rear books and seating areas and a lounge area.
The second floor is designed similar to the main floor, but is expected to house paperbacks and fiction books. There will also be a computer area and exit to a balcony where patrons can take reading materials outdoors overlooking the river.
The third floor will house administration and staff and a public meeting room.
Innes, who is a member of the library board, has opposed library administration staff being relocated to new offices on the third floor and would prefer they remain at their present location at Aboyne.
Innes said if the county portion of the project exceeds $5 million she will recommend to council a further redesign to eliminate the third floor office and meeting space.
It’s expected work will be started by July.
