Groundbreaking for new library building occurs in the heart of Presque Isle
by Peter Jakey –Managing Editor
Site number eight could not have provided a better location for the new Grand Lake library. Members of the Presque Isle District Library (PIDL) board, along with staff, had been searching for the right site for about five years. According to library board chairman Beach Hall, seven different sites did not work out for one reason or another. Site number eight will suit the needs of PIDL and the community. Ground was broke on a new building Monday afternoon.
?Procrastination and delays sort of paid off because we ended up probably in the best location we could have ever had,? said Hall. The property had been owned by Norris and Ruth Doyle. A portion of the lot also had belonged to the Grand Lake Chapel. The new library building will be located along Lake Esau Highway, across the roadway from Homestead Park and the Grand Lake Chapel. The groundbreaking ceremony took place under the warmth of a late April sun in an area that will be the front lawn area of the new building. Shovels adorned with ribbons were used to turn the first dirt.
The site currently shows the remnants of the foundation of a one-story house, which had been owned by the Doyles. TAKING PART in the groundbreaking were county and township officials, library board members, staff, the contractor, and area residents.
?It makes me feel like we have accomplished something here,? said Jan Stevenson. ?I feel good for the folks in Grand Lake.? The cost for the building project will be just under $500,000. Bids were more than $100,000 under estimates, which offered an opportunity to install a geo-thermal heating system, which is expected to pay for itself about the same time the building payments come to an end. ?This is the cornerstone of the community,? said architect Chuck Winters. The Friends of the Library is expected to help out with the landscaping and furnishing of equipment. The new building will be
A UNIQUE FEATURE will be the park/natural area 50 feet from the East Grand Lake Road right-of-way. People using the bike trail can make a pit stop before heading into the building. The staff is looking forward to working in a more modern facility. ?I feel good about leaving the old building behind because there is so much wrong with it,? said Stevenson. ?The plumbing is slowly going. The well is okay, but it does not have that many years left. And the wasps, we?ll feel real good about leaving the wasps.?
Branch manager Rick Townsend believes the new building, which is located in the heart of Presque Isle, will bring more people in. One of the original plans was to renovate the building they currently are in, but it would have cost $30,000. That price tag probably would have tripled in today?s market, Stevenson said. The contractor promised to have bulldozers on site soon with the project targeted for completion in October.