Duane Hicks
As a follow-up to council voting against the contract to build the $4.7-million Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre earlier this week, the library board has called an emergency meeting for this coming Monday afternoon.
“We’ve called a special board meeting Monday to find out where are we, what do we do, what could happen,” library board chair Joyce Cunningham said yesterday afternoon.
“We have sent out unofficial messages to the town that we would really like it if they could present us with something so we could react, instead of us always going to them, and they say, ‘No,’ and we come back, and they say, ‘No,’ again.
“It would be nice if we had something from them to react to,” she remarked. “Other than that, we’ll want to talk about what the situation is and what might happen.
“It’s a pretty unstructured meeting,” added Cunningham. “But we have invited [project manager] Brian Avis to walk us through some procedures.
“He’s always got a good head on his shoulders.”
Some members of council and some board members have stated they’re hopeful that all the work that’s been done in preparation of the proposed library and technology centre won’t go to waste, and still can be useful in getting a project going this year.
But Cunningham warned “the clock is ticking.”
“Personally, my gut is saying I don’t see how we can pull it out unless the town gives us some firm commitment about what is acceptable. We seem to be getting mixed messages,” she said.
“But we want to make a last-ditch attempt, and so we have been phoning outsiders and asking, ‘Can you help us? Can you give us advice?’ That’s all we’ve managed to do so far.”
The library board, also comprised of Arlene Georgeson, Mark Kowalchuk, Shari Humphrey, Alan Zucchiatti, and Couns. Ken Perry and Andrew Hallikas, will meet at 4 p.m. downstairs at the library.
This meeting is open to the public.
The matter of the new library also is likely to be on the agenda of the next town budget meeting on Wednesday (April 22).
As reported earlier this week, council voted 5-2 against a recommendation from the Fort Frances Public Library board to enter into a contact with Aurora Construction, in the amount of $3,733,219, to proceed with construction of the new library and technology centre according to the plans and specifications prepared by Chamberlain Architects.
The total project cost, including professional fees, furniture, and equipment, is $4.739 million.
According to the project budget submitted to council last week by the library board, the municipal share of the cost was estimated to be about $1.3 million—$240,000 from a dedicated reserve, $50,000 in in-kind services, and $1.09 million in long-term debt.
The balance would be paid for mainly through a $1.6-million grant from the Ministry of Culture, a $439,500 grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., and private and corporate donations/pledges in the amount of $850,000, with the balance paid with proceeds from the sale of the old library and an anticipated FedNor grant.
The majority of council agreed they would like to see a new library and technology centre built, but felt the town could not afford the projected $1 million-plus contribution right now, and feared their actual share would end up being closer to $1.5-$1.6 million.
