Jolys library renovation plans begin

The building is bought and ready to be transformed into the new location for the Jolys Regional Library that serves everyone in St Pierre and De Salaberry for free.

Village of St Pierre staff and the Jolys library board are seeking a construction cost quote using a plan already drawn up by previous board members to knock down walls and renovate inside the St Pierre-Jolys Professional Centre at 479 Turenne Street.

Mayor Raymond Maynard figures this should save on costs.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any engineering things done because there’s no structural walls inside, so only the outside walls are structural,” explained Maynard.

“It used to be wide open space for a lumberyard.”

Property owners had the option of paying the special levy of $480 all at once or over 10 years with interest needed for the borrowing of up to $250,000 for the new space.

The library’s current location is attached to Red River Valley School Division’s (RRVSD) École Heritage Immersion school, where it has been since the 1960s.

RRVSD changed the hours of the public library to be closed during school hours this past September.

The school division has also made it clear that the priority for the space is for the school, and that if the student population keeps growing and it’s needed for learning space in the future, the library would be closed to the public.

“Now we’re going to have our hours open when they’re supposed to be open to the public full-time,” said Mayor Maynard.

He said it will be a return to what the hours were before, with specifics to be decided by the library.

“People can go there and use it as a place to gather and chat, go look at e-books or regular books. This will be a huge advantage,” added Maynard.

The RM of De Salaberry remains a partner in the regional library.

De Salaberry lowered its funding to 50 percent of operating costs instead of by population after the school division decided last year that the expanded St Malo School would be using its former public library space as daycare space instead. That left the St Pierre school location as the only library space left.

Maynard said they are meeting with other Southeast municipalities to see if some could join their regional library. Provincial funding increases based on how many more municipalities join.

The long-term goal is to build a new library as part of the planned recreation and wellness campus called Le Rendez-Vous. It would join community gathering spaces, a refurbished ice rink, a cafeteria, a recreational fitness facility and a turf fieldhouse.

When the new location may be ready, and the quoted cost of renovations were not available by press time.