After over 20 years of a slow and sometimes stalled process, a tender’s been awarded for the renovations to the Smiths Falls Public Library.
Among the changes will be a bathroom on the third floor, an elevator, and meeting spaces.
Council awarded the work to Premium Construction Inc for $1.384 million.
It was the lowest of eight bids but still $175,000 more than budgeted.
Councillor Dawn Quinn says this work justifies the additional cost.
The library renovations is an all-too familiar topic for long-time councillor Jay Brennan.
Every council member except Chris McGuire voted to award the project.
McGuire shared various concerns around public consultation and the exterior addition to the property which avoided municipal heritage bylaws.
Mayor Shawn Pankow was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
The library said there’s no timeline yet on when construction will start.
Story by Grant Deme