Jun 25, 2009 - 11:59 AM
Scott Howard
The move of the Cannington Library to the old town hall may come to fruition with the creation of a non-profit group to oversee the historic building.
That's the recommendation of a task force formed a few weeks ago to facilitate the move and revitalize the town hall.
A public information meeting has been scheduled for Monday, July 6 at 7 p.m. at the Cannington Community Centre to allow local residents an opportunity to learn more about that possibility.
"It's a chance to engage the public and keep this process moving forward," said Mayor Larry O'Connor, who spearheaded the formation of the task force.
Regional councillor John Grant also served as did Brock Township Library CEO Rona O'Bannion, local resident David Slabodkin -- who pledged $50,000 to restoration of the town hall -- and representatives of the town hall board of management, the local Lions Club and historical society.
While details are far from firm, the move would see the Township transfer management of the facility to a yet-to-be-formed non-profit corporation. The Township would then likely lease back the ground floor of the facility to house the library.
"It's a good solution if we can make it work," said Ward 4 councillor David Marquis.
Members of council reviewed roughly 30 pages of reports and background material after hearing of the task force's recommendation. All seemed to support the plan to some degree.
"This is the first time that everyone on council is pulling in the same direction," said Ward 1 councillor Mike Manchester.
"It looks like we can save this historic building and address the need for a new library in Cannington."
"And it looks like the cost to the taxpayer won't be anywhere near the numbers we were looking at before," added regional councillor John Grant.
Preliminary cost estimates pegged the cost of restoring the town hall to accommodate the library at $1.7 million. It's unclear how the non-profit proposal would impact the Township's bottom line on the project, though many councillors expect it would open the door to additional funding opportunities and spark a community fundraising initiative.
A structural assessment of the town hall undertaken by the task force -- paid for by Mr. Slabodkin -- revealed the ground floor could accommodate the library with very little work required.
"The library could move into the town hall virtually as is," said Terry Sellers, who represented the town hall board of management on the task force.
"It's almost ready to go and, with some changes, it could be even better."
But there are still some hurdles standing in the way.
Title issues on the property will likely need to be cleared up before the project can proceed and an electrical sub-station that occupies a portion of the property would have to be relocated.
And, despite supporting the recommendations of the task force, council has not formally endorsed the town hall as the future site of the library.
Recommend :