The wind and rain certainly did not dampen spirits at the sod turning ceremony for the Jake Epp Public Library expansion project yesterday in Steinbach.
Mayor Chris Goertzen was joined by Barb Guenther (Library Board Member) who brought greetings on behalf of Chair Jon Sawatzky, Councillor John Fehr and Loraine Trudeau (Head Librarian), to mark the commencement of the Jake Epp Library Expansion with a ceremony at the site of the expansion.
“The Jake Epp Library is a well-utilized facility in our region and this expansion project will allow the facility to continue to serve both our community and the region for many years,” said Mayor Chris Goertzen.
“This project started out as a dream and has been vigorously been pursued by staff and several generations of board members,” said Library Board Chair, Jon Sawatzky. “They have contributed countless hours of planning and strategizing with hope of seeing this day. The journey has not always been smooth, but the contributions to our community will be well worth the effort. Today, we can enjoy this great achievement as we see the project starting to take shape.”
“It’s an exciting day for the library staff,” said Head Librarian, Loraine Trudeau. “I would like to thank all of the current and past board members of the Jake Epp Library, who worked so tirelessly to grow and promote library services in Steinbach. I would also like to thank Mayor Chris Goertzen, members of City Council and library staff, and all others in the community who adopted the cause of an expanded library, and championed it all the way to this celebration day.”
The contract was awarded to Boretta Construction 2002 Ltd. in August 2011 for the bid of $1,682,091. The project was scaled down to a budget of $1.9 million and approved by City Council in December 2010. The project received a provincial grant of $600,000, and $400,000 in City funds with the remaining costs coming from debt creation.
The existing library was constructed in 1996 at a size of 800 square meters. The new expansion will be 590 square meters, for a total size of 1390 square meters. Demolition began the week of September 12th, and construction is set to begin the week of September 26th. Completion is anticipated for fall 2012.
