Municipal staff have suggested building the new library close to the Region of Queens administrative office.
In a release issued, Thursday Nov 16, staff say the Liverpool Business Development Center, on Harley Umphrey Drive, “offers an ideal space, including ample parking, access to green spaces, and more room for programming.”
Another benefit of the proposed relocation is that the Liverpool Business Development Center is owned by the Region of Queens.
The library’s lease in their current location at the Rossignol Centre in Liverpool is set to expire at the end of 2024.
Municipalities are responsible for providing space to locate regional libraries in Nova Scotia. Finding a new site to relocate the library has proved contentious for Region of Queens Council.
In the 2022/23 budget, Council voted to use part of a $3 million surplus from the federal and provincial governments to build a new library. A committee was struck shortly thereafter to recommend a site. Their unanimous choice was that it should be located at Queens Place.
Council initially rejected that option in June of 2022 and asked the committee to come back with another recommendation. Councillors raised concerns at the time that the location would be too remote for people coming from the Liverpool area.
In January 2023, the committee again determined the Queens Place site was best and this time Council approved their recommendation and agreed to build the new library on the Queens Place location.
However, in March, Council rescinded that approval in a recorded 5-3 vote after learning the estimated cost of extending the driveway to the proposed site would be $950,000.
If Council agrees to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center, it will join existing tenants Belliveau Veinotte Accountants and Global Empire Call Centre.
In July of this year, Council awarded a $2,031,273 tender to Sea Coast HVAC for the installation of a new HVAC system at the Liverpool Business Development Center.
A draft design concept for the new library will be presented to Council for its consideration. If they agree to move the library to the Liverpool Business Development Center more design work will be required before renovations begin.
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