Following an extensive discussion over lease terms, the St. Charles Parish Council approved an amended agreement for a temporary location for the West Regional Library.
The regional library, which will undergo a $1.79 million renovation this year, will temporarily relocate to 12439 Highway 90 next to Perque Carpet and Pizza Hut for 10 to 12 months.
Council Chairwoman Wendy Benedetto got approval at Monday’s council meeting to amend the lease to specify Perque Real Estate complete building repairs and/or upgrades by March 1. Benedetto asked if the lease’s move-in date was doable, particularly since missing the occupy date could risk losing up to $8,000 in deposit and rent costs.
Councilwoman Julia Fisher-Perrier also asked if they were similar to other the lease terms were comparable to other tenants’ leases in the building and also advised getting personal property coverage insurance. Councilwoman Mary Clulee said the location could pose parking problems.Library Director Leann Benedict said she was confident the move could started by March 1, the insurance would be purchased and the parking space should be sufficient.
Traffic is a concern with 43,737 patrons visiting the West Regional Library last year.
Benedict also said they focused on controlling cost that included negotiating the monthly lease amount from $4,200 to $4,000, and the lessor providing repairs and upgrades.Councilman Terrell Wilson said, based on his reviewing the move plans, that these concerns had been sufficiently vetted.
Both Councilman Paul Hogan and parish attorney Robert Raymond agreed the lease date would be met if the library move is initiated in some form that would constitute occupancy.
Benedict said they expected to begin the move in March.At about 4,000 square feet, the building is much smaller, she said. Half of the location will be used for storage with the other half used for public and staff areas. It will still include access to eight to 10 public computers, photocopiers, a small browsing collection, as well as requests will be taken for materials from the parish’s library system.
Benedict said the renovation will include a number of improvements, including an increase of the number of public computers as well as the addition of a computer lab, more study rooms and a larger meeting room, which is available at no cost to the local community.
“We will also be making general improvements to the building such as better lighting, better accessibility, and adding an entrance to the Planetarium from inside the library,” she said.
The renovation, she said, will take an estimated eight months, and the library will have to remain closed for that duration.
“It’s been a longtime coming,” Benedict said of the project. Plans have been in the works two to three years, but they opted for a smaller renovation in favor of building a Norco library branch. “This way, we get two projects done rather than one.”
Plans for the Norco renovation will be underway while the West Regional Library is being upgraded. The Norco renovation could go to bid by mid-2017 and go into operation by early 2018.
Benedict said not long after becoming the library director in December of 2013, the library board determined that, in addition to renovating the West Regional Library, there was a strong need and demand for a better branch in Norco.
The existing branch is the only building being leased in the library system and is also the smallest of the system’s branches, she said. A location has been purchased for the new location.
With property available, Benedict said the library decided to scale back the West Regional renovation and direct funds to purchase and renovate property in Norco.
The first delay, in the summer of 2013, came because an exhibit at the East Regional Library in Destrehan, called Discover Earth, forced the start date to be pushed back.
Then, officials decided to revise the design, which pushed the construction date back by a few more months.
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