The Vancouver Island Regional LibraryB次元官网网址檚 ambitious $6-million plan to build a new library in Sooke has been delayed due to health and safety issues at other Island branches.
Library renovation projects at the Sayward, Tahsis and Port McNeill branches centering around asbestos exposure has brought all other projects to a stop.
B次元官网网址淲e are obliged to address these issues immediately,B次元官网网址� said Rosemary Bonanno, VIRLB次元官网网址檚 executive director.
B次元官网网址淲hile we are limited by human capacity, staff are striving to balance and respond to the pent-up demand of VIRLB次元官网网址檚 various facilities needs. Sooke remains the top priority in the ] and we are committed to building a state-of-the-art facility for Sooke as quickly and as efficiently as possible.B次元官网网址�
In March, VIRL announced plans to build a new 10,000 square-foot library in Sooke at 671 Wadams Way. The library was scheduled to be completed by December 2018.
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Sooke residents will not go without library services, said Sooke Coun. Kerrie Reay, a member of the library board.
VIRL has negotiated an extension to the lease of the current Sooke branch on Anna Marie Road that continues through December 2019. Library staff are also working with the architects on various aspects of the project, including adjacencies and the building program.
VIRL goal is to have shovels in the ground by mid-2018. The new library would open in approximately a yearB次元官网网址檚 time B次元官网网址� tentatively, the spring of 2019.
The work stoppage doesnB次元官网网址檛 just affect Sooke, but any new builds and renovations within the library system. New libraries are also planned for Chemainus and North Saanich.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very disappointing,B次元官网网址� Reay said.
B次元官网网址淚f another building is found with asbestos, Sooke could be delayed again.B次元官网网址�
But at last weekB次元官网网址檚 library meeting in Nanaimo, Reay suggested the library board hire an additional person to help with speeding the process along.
B次元官网网址淭he rest of VIRL canB次元官网网址檛 come to a standstill while you remediate these buildings from exposure to asbestos. The business has to continue,B次元官网网址� she said.
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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