COLUMBIANA Library opens work bidding for addition

The staff is planning fall events with upcoming construction in mind.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- Although no dirt has been moved yet, Columbiana Public Library officials are hopeful the library's $1 million addition will be under roof before winter.
Carol Cobbs, library director, said the library board will accept bids until Sept. 4. Architects will then review the bids and have a report ready for the board's Sept. 11 meeting.
Cobbs said library officials hope contractors can begin work soon after the contracts are awarded before the weather turns cold.
The library staff is planning fall events with the construction in mind, she said.
Much of the work will be going on in front of the building, and some of the parking area will be lost, she said.
The $1 million project will be a one-story, 6,000-square-foot addition on the east side of the library.
Nearby land
Earlier this year, the board bought properties adjacent to the library on North Middle and West Salem streets.
The homes on those lots will eventually be torn down, making the library visible from West Salem Street, she said.
The lots will be kept green and neatly landscaped after the houses are removed, she said.
Voters approved a levy in May 2001 that will generate $1 million through the sale of bonds, she said.
Revenue from the sale of bonds can be used only for the building addition, Cobbs said.
The properties were bought with money the board has saved over the years and with donations from the estates of patrons Edna Calvin and William Millen, she said.