By Stephen Vance, Staff
As part of an initiative to assess buildings operated by the municipality and whether any efficiencies or better uses could be realized, council has given municipal staff permission to undertake a study to determine if the existing public library building could be linked to the existing municipal office building to create one large library facility.
Treasurer Darcy Chapman told council that while the municipality had been in talks with the school board about the possibility of using part of the under-utilized Georgian Bay Secondary School for a new public library, recent indications from the board are that the unused space could soon be used for elementary school students should a proposal to close Meaford Community School move forward.
Council approved $40,000 from reserve funds to conduct the study, which will determine the current state of both buildings, whether they could be connected to each other, and the advantages and disadvantages to operating the joined buildings as a public library.
Chapman noted that the municipal office would provide an additional 6,000 square feet of space to the library, all of which is on one level, and would be fully accessible. The plan would allow library staff to move the children’s library from its current basement location, and public meeting rooms could be moved from the upper floor of the current building to the much more accessible single-floor administration building.
No suggestion was offered as to where the municipal offices would be moved should the proposed connection of the two buildings prove viable, though Chapman noted that even if Meaford doesn’t have an existing building that could accommodate the municipal offices, construction of a new administration building would cost considerably less than building a new library facility.
“An administration building can be less shiny,” Chapman told council, suggesting that a library can easily cost $300 per square foot to construct, meaning that a new library could cost several million dollars while an administration facility could be built for much less.
Staff will report back to council with the findings after the study has been completed.
