John Stephenson, an architect with Kuch, Stephenson, Gibson, and Malo of Thunder Bay, will present town council with the final plans for a proposed new public library here tonight.
Last appearing before council back in July, Stephenson has wrapped up the report on the onestorey structure that hopefully will be built at the site of Alexander MacKenzie School, including such details as square footage, accessibility, and cost, chief librarian Margaret Sedgwick said Friday.
“It’s exciting for us,” said Sedgwick.
“It’s the second big step in getting a new library. The first was getting this study started in the first place,” she added, noting the report initially was expected in the fall.
Sedgwick said she’d love to see a new library built in the next two years.
“We’re getting pretty cramped where we are,” she remarked. “And it gets worse as we add more and more programming. For example, we just got money from the Moffat Family for a reading area for teens.
“Now we don’t know where to put it.”^The library board has been discussing the possibility of a new library, or at least renovations to the current one at the corner of Church Street and Victoria Avenue, for about the past two years, said Sedgwick.
But the board took its first serious step forward at a public meeting last March, when it was clearly agreed upon that a new library was needed.
While the board and other members of the public initially saw old Fort Frances High School on First Street East as an ideal location for a new library, it came to light afterwards that other developers already had plans for that site.
The board then decided the site of Alexander MacKenzie School, which is slated for closure this fall, would be much better.
Other business at tonight’s council meeting, which gets underway around 6:45 p.m. at the Civic Centre, will include:
•an activities report and services invoice from Geoff Gillon and Telford Advent of the Rainy River Future Development Corp. for the period covering Oct. 1, 2003-Dec. 31, 2003;
•a bylaw to approve an agreement with Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario, as represented by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs through its Ontario Small Town and Rural Development Infrastructure Initiative, for upgrades at the water treatment plant;
•a recommendation from the Economic Development Advisory Committee for discussion of a draft business retention and expansion action plan;
•a request from the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship Inc. for financial and in-kind support for the 2004 bass tournament here;
•a request from Leesa and Michael Schmid and Mrs. J. Wickstrom regarding renewal of a lease agreement for property located on McIrvine Road;
•a request from the Rainy River District School Board regarding input on the 2004-05 school board budget;
•a letter of concern from Envision North, Lorelei L. Locker, Edward Jones, and Mario Jewellers regarding installation of parking meters in the downtown area; and
•an invitation from Gillons’ Insurance to a risk management seminar.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
