VILLAS — The Lower Township Library on Bayshore Road will close through the fall and winter for a reconstruction project with a temporary facility elsewhere in the township as its replacement.
Bud Springer, director of facilities and services for the county, said the Lower Township Library had the heaviest use of any branch in the county.
Ken Schellenger, assistant county engineer, said the facility will be made accessible to the handicapped by installation of new entrances and leveling the parking lot to the same height as the entrances. Steps will be eliminated, he said.
The right turn lane on Station Road, leaving the library/town hall complex, will be increased in length and width to Bayshore Road. Traffic detection loops will be replaced which trigger the traffic light, said Schellenger.
Station Road will be repaved back to the Memorial School stop line. Parking lot lighting and drainage will be improved, he said.
Construction should begin in October or November with work continuing all winter, said Schellenger.
The library should reopen by Memorial Day 2010. The county is searching for a building to act as a temporary facility.
“We are basically going to take the building down to the bare walls and completely redo the interior along with the work that’s being done on the meeting rooms,” said Schellenger.
He said the library building would be enlarged about 25 percent to within 15 feet of State Street.
Deborah Poillon, director of the county Library Commission, said the addition would measure about 2,640 square feet comprising an additional meeting room, a couple of study rooms and a “rather large reading area.”
“Your place gets used a lot down here and you don’t have any seating, so we are trying to fix that,” said Poillon.
She said there would be a minimal amount of down time between the closing of the library and the opening of a temporary facility other than moving the books back and forth.
The library parking lot will increase from 39 to 41 spaces. A back parking lot near Anco Hardware will be removed to provide space for a retention basin for storm water.
The site plan is on display at the library.
Stone Harbor – Bob Ross thank you for all your years of volunteer service to the community of Stone Harbor. A Lifelong resident And property owner. 10 years on school board, 6 years on zoning board they can't…
