2018 Funding goals met! (posted November 15, 2018)

Connie Eyster of the Lyons Regional Library District Foundation would like to thank everyone who worked so hard and contributed so much to the library building fund.  “As the thermometers indicate, we reached our $3.4 million goal. Whew!  With our initial funding goal met, we are thrilled to have been able to break ground on the new library.”

What’s next? In order to save costs and get construction underway, the draft amount budgeted for furnishings, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) and technology was kept as low as possible. Lower, in fact, than the recommended amounts of tables, desks, chairs, computers, printers, and shelves for a building of our size and function.  As 2018 winds down the staff and architects are conducting an inventory of current holdings, equipment, and furnishings with a mind to re-using as much as possible. They will then come up with the minimum additional needed for Opening Day in summer 2019. They will also develop a wish list of future desirable FF&E plus Tech to be added as we can. Those cost numbers, when they come in, will drive the “Final Mile” funding goals for 2019.

Construction is on track

There were plenty of smiling faces at the historic groundbreaking ceremony for the new library building. We’re still smiling because excellent weather conditions have allowed the work to progress nicely. Building Committee Chair Sandy Banta reports that site utilities and light posts are being installed, footings are being poured, and parking lot grading is being completed. There will be a big push to get the first layer of asphalt on the parking lot because once that happens then Fransen Pittman will be able to use the parking lot as its staging area and move its equipment off the street. Fourth Avenue will not have to be blocked off for the entire length of the construction project. So keep your fingers crossed for continued good weather and good construction progress.