We waited with anticipation to hear the word on whether or not we would receive the Flexible Facilities Grant that was applied for earlier in the summer/fall. Receiving this grant would really be what we would need to move forward with building plans and the process with our architect, Tom Westlund of Westlund Consultancy.
So, it was in early October that we received the wonderful information that we were awarded the $1.8 million that we applied for! This was wonderful and exciting news. It meant, however, that the Forest Lodge Library Board of Trustees had more work to do before giving Westlund Consultancy the go-ahead to move forward with the process of the library expansion plans.
The Forest Lodge Library Board of Trustees did call a meeting on October 30th to decide on whether or not, now that there was a little bit more funding available, to stretch the building longer just a bit and possibly make room for other upgrades that would be beneficial.
At that meeting, the Forest Lodge Library Board of Trustees did vote to go from the 3500 square foot building (in the expansion only, the square footage of the log cabin is not included in that number) to approximately a 4500 – 4600 square foot building (leeway given for architect to work with). The board also voted to improve the HVAC system to include in-floor heating and upgrading all the windows.
There was also discussion about other things to possibly include in the new library expansion building, such as a booth-like pod to provide an additional sound-proof meeting space, however, based on the Spring Community Input Survey the number one use of the library IS books and materials, so we will need to be sure that there is adequate space available for those items before proceeding with details of other things as we move forward.
