We’re Reaching an Important Planning Stage
The community group spearheading the planning, fund raising, and construction of a new library centre for Kentville area, has entered a stage of critical discussion with the Town of Kentville and with groups representing development options from within the non-profit and business communities.
Friends of the Kentville Public Library Society will meet with council members and town staff on Tuesday, Oct. 12, and with Kentville’s community development organization on Wednesday, Oct. 20. More public discussion is planned for later in the fall.
“We are at a critical crossroads regarding the potential character and size of this important community project.” said the Friends’ chair, Ginny Evans.
She told Kentville Town Council, “we must strike a balance between what the community is telling us they need in terms of library and other community services, and what is attractive and viable for fund raising purposes, as well as what is sustainable in terms of support from municipal governments.”
Evans said that consensus with Kentville and the County of Kings is now required because the library centre will serve a distinct regional audience.
The Friends’ secretary, Jen Bolt, told the Kentville town council that provincial and federal support will be easier to secure if the project serves diverse needs within the community and also meets government goals in terms of economic or cultural values. The ability of FOLKS to attract donations from individuals and businesses will expand significantly with a concept that goes beyond a library-only.
Important goals have been achieved by The Friends, said Bolt, including; selection and confirmation of a beautiful river site in the former DAR downtown rail property, preliminary plans by a world-renown Nova Scotia architect, development of a solid Business Plan, and a series of well-attended public planning workshops to determine community priorities.
The Friends have in the past few years held discussions with several regional non-profit organizations regarding potential partnership in an expanded community centre concept. Evans said she hoped that other organizations would, in the next month or so, step forward with potential regional services and space-sharing ideas for the new centre.
“This is a rare opportunity for Kentville and area and we want to talk with community leaders and possible stakeholders to explore ideas of maximizing economic, social, and cultural impacts,” said Evans.
“It has to be an absolutely fabulous library, first of all, but it may have to be more than just a library in order to compete for scarce public and private dollars.”
Kentville Library is currently housed in an old problem-plagued building, with serious structural and potential environmental problems, next door to the County of Kings building on Cornwallis Avenue. Despite physical limitations, the library has this year experienced dramatic increases in public use of its services and programs, but has had to cancel programs due to lack of space.
Under provincial legislation, municipal governments are responsible for paying per-capita grants to the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, which in turn, provides the operating budget for its branch libraries. The various Valley municipal units are also responsible for providing and maintaining the respective library buildings in each town.
For further information, contact: Ginny Evans (evanscg@eastlink.ca) or Jennifer Bolt (jennifer@redlettercounsel.com).
