Region of Queens Council will revisit the decision to build the new public library at Queens Place.

Several councillors have expressed they didn’t have a full picture of the costs involved in locating the new library at Queens Place when they voted in January.

At issue is an estimated $950,000 cost to extend the road, sidewalks, and underground water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the new build.

At the last council meeting, CAO Chris McNeill explained that while it is not policy, it has been councils’ practice to reinvest the proceeds from the land sales at Queens Place back into the site.

Queens sold a large plot for the construction of the new long-term care facility replacing Queens Manor and Hillsview Manor. The new road would reach the library as well as the new long-term care home.

Because it wasn’t infrastructure work dedicated to the library build, it wasn’t included when the costs were tallied to locate the library on the site.

Coun. Maddie Charlton says the $950,000 puts the site preparation costs at Queens Place far higher than any of the other seven sites that were being considered.

She says the region has many priorities and it should be up to council to decide if they want to allocate $950,000 for Queens Place or if it could be used on another project. That led to this exchange at the last meeting between Coun. Charlton and Mayor Darlene Norman.

“It sounds to me like the library committee was under the assumption that this was a signed deal, that infrastructure was happening,” said Charlton, “and we didn't have an opportunity to discuss that's how we want to spend that money.”

Norman replied, “There is a way to change your mind about when new information comes forward and it is called resending emotion.”

The mayor is concerned if council can’t agree to build a new library at Queens Place it may never be built.

“There may even be a discussion at some point in time, we may even get back to why do we need a new library and all other things. I mean, I really don't know why council cannot just agree that Queens Place is a great place to put a library which we are committed to do, you know," said Norman. "Library services are part of our responsibility and it's a library for Queens County. It's not a Liverpool library, it’s a library for Queens County. And if we have $1,000,000 from the sale of land and we want to put that into roads, sidewalk that may assist the Manor, well isn't that a great thing?”

Council will vote if they want to rescind the motion to build the library at Queens Place during their next meeting March 14.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.