« Princeton Library $1.5M closer to endowment campaign goal | Main | Library site a hot new social media hangout for teens »

March 8, 2010

Swedesboro Public Library expansion plans gain ground

Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Gloucester County Times
By Deena DiBacco
ddibacco@sjnewsco.com
SWEDESBORO Council members met Monday night for their meeting, and steps have been taken to further expansions on Swedesboro Public Library.

The date for construction bids to be received for library expansion, rescheduled twice first for Feb. 11, and again for Feb. 24 have been received and reviewed by council members Monday night.

Mayor Thomas Fromm said that the council is ready to award the winning bid - and plan to do so in two weeks, at their next meeting on March 15.

In the meantime, Fromm said the council will do an administrative cleanup to fund the expansion, and the winning bid will be awarded in the next three weeks.

The administrative cleanup was dealt with at Monday's meeting as well. Council members amended an ordinance to make bids available for use by the library, which means that members exactly identified library expansion funding, and made money available to use for the project.

"We moved around some funds from other projects over to be used in the library project," said Fromm.

According to Fromm, $120,000 was moved, and will now be used to pay for library expansions that will be executed by the company who is awarded the winning bid.

Fromm said the construction will begin soon after the winning bid is announced.

"We expect, once it's awarded, to start action and see things happen," said Fromm. "Anywhere from two to three weeks after the award."

Fromm said that the entire project will consist of $1.1 million to complete, a significant portion of which will be paid for by the county because the Swedesboro facility is a branch of the Gloucester County Library System.

The library, already used by around 10,000 Swedesboro and Woolwich residents, has plans to add 3,000 square feet of space that they'll utilize for events, programs, community meetings, and additional space for resources and items.

After renovations, the top floor of the library will be used as the main floor, and the back wall will be taken down and replaced with a picture window, so that the new entranceway will be clearly visible from Kings Highway.

Expansion plans also included the implementation of an elevator and stairwell, which will give library members access to a lower level that will include new bathrooms, meeting rooms, a new HVAC system, a kitchen and an art exhibition area.

Handicapped-accessible exits will be built at the lower level, and will lead to the library parking lot.

Posted by tumulty at March 8, 2010 10:38 AM

Comments

Post a comment