Possible library site: Board looks at locating inside former hospital

Talk about it

The old Jamestown Hospital building was added to a list of potential locations for a new library facility at Wednesday’s meeting of the James River Valley Library System Library Board.

“What we do today would not change,” said Gary Riffe, library board member. “We would just rent space” from Lutheran Social Services, the owner of the old hospital building.

The hospital building is being repurposed for about 54 apartments, some of which will be subsidized as affordable housing.

The board has been considering a new location for library facilities for a long time, and had previously asked the Jamestown City Council to allow the board to purchase the Essentia property on April 30, 2011. The council denied the request, and since then the board has been re-examining alternatives, such as the Eagles building or the renovation of and addition to Alfred Dickey Library.

The idea of using part of the hospital for a library facility came up on Tuesday, so many details have yet to be worked out, such as whether the hospital’s first floor could withstand the weight of the library’s books.

The library would have about 17,000 to 19,000 square feet for books and its other resources, and owners LSS would remodel the space to fit the library’s needs.

Leasing part of the hospital would cost a ballpark $150,000 a year, which would include snow removal, utilities, security and other buildings and grounds costs.

The library’s most recent budget for buildings and grounds was $55,000. Riffe estimated that borrowing $3 million to construct a new building elsewhere would cost $200,000 a year for 10 years.

In other news Wednesday, the board:

* learned of the resignation of member Jim Nyland, for health reasons.

* agreed to advertise for applicants for JRVLS director. Daphne Drewello, the current director, is retiring.

* discussed the next steps in its strategic planning process, which will involve collecting and examining data about the past, present and future of the library and the Stutsman County community.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453or by email at klucin@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, library