Block by block, Burton Public Library leadership is putting in place all the necessary pieces to make major repairs to the library foundation.Last May, a…
Block by block, Burton Public Library leadership is putting in place all the necessary pieces to make major repairs to the library foundation.
Last May, a continuous 1.7-mill replacement levy passed, making funds available this year.
Last Monday, the Burton Village Council, which owns the building and leases part of it to the library, received a report from I.A. Lewin P.E. and Associates of Cleveland detailing repairs necessary to make the old foundation waterproof and the building safe.
The condition survey, commissioned by the library board, is preliminary to a more thorough exploration of the foundation below grade, according to the report.
Once that is done and estimates made, the project will be bid out, said board President Judy Starr.
How long the process will take is still unknown, Starr said.
An intermediate step may be the pursuit of grants to help shore up the library’s funds.
Library Executive Director Holly Lynn is exploring all these puzzle pieces as she and the board work their way to a finished product in the not-too-distant future.
“The longer we wait, the more deterioration (of the foundation) there will be,” Lynn said. “We’re at the very beginning. It’s kind of a step-by-step process.”
The village owns the historic brick building that was put up as a high school in 1884 and village offices occupy most of the second floor. The village police department uses part of the damp basement, which also has been the site of the library’s book sales. The library is no longer accepting donated books until the repairs can be made.
Lynn said the lease with the village reads that the library is responsible for maintenance of the building.
The dampness and deterioration has been an ongoing problem discussed for years, she said, with the police department suffering some of the worst conditions.
When the replacement levy passed, providing an additional $113,600 a year for operations, it triggered the project, Lynn said.
“We’re so thankful our voters passed the levy,” Starr said.
Because the Burton Public Library is technically a school library, it was voters from the Berkshire school district that opened their wallets to help support the renovations, she said.
By now, the board realizes the project will be more extensive and expensive than originally thought, Starr said.
So Lynn volunteered to take a grant-writing class at Kent State University Geauga campus with the hopes of receiving grant money to help pay for the renovations as they progress.
“It is a much beloved landmark,” she said.
Stan Tomaszewski, structural Engine-er with Lewin, did the visual study of the library.
“The damage seems to be only above grade, mostly due to weathering,” he said Monday. “The stone is good, and it’s all salvageable, but there will be some rebuild.”
The next phase, the start of the repair project, will be an onsite testing of the foundation below grade, Tomaszewski said.
