Monday morning the Marshall County Council approved the request of the Plymouth Public Library to appropriate an additional $5 million for renovation work at the library.
Steven Buras, Director of the Library said last year’s supply chain and increasing pricing caused the library to scale back its project. By keeping many interior walls, they were able to reduce the cost of the project by $400,000.
The request was to appropriate $5 million using cash they have been saving for a major capital improvement project.
County Council member Jim Masterson asked how many children use the library after school and he was told 30 to 40 kids, but the huge number is 800 children signed up for the summer reading program.
The County Council approved an additional appropriation from the Library’s General Fund of $2,983,689; $32 to zero out the Library Improvement Reserve Fund and $2,016,279 from their Rainy-Day Fund for a grand total of $5 million.
Buras said the plan is to bid on the project in September.
During the public input portion of the meeting, Debbie Beck, who retired from the Plymouth Public Library voiced her support for the renovation project. She said the library “serves many of the underprivileged in the community,” that it is a “hub for the community” and there is “a true need in the community for the services provided by the library.”
