RUMFORD – A committee studying potential changes at the public library will soon request proposals for a new facility.
Selectmen on Thursday learned from Kathy Sutton, chairwoman of the Rumford Public Library Growth Committee, that after six years of study, the committee is ready to seek designs. Once that is completed, a capital campaign to pay for the new facility will be launched.
Sutton said Friday night that the committee is waiting for the results of two grants seeking funds to pay for the design. She should know whether they were successful soon after the beginning of the year. She estimated $5,000 to $15,000 will be needed for creation of the design and a rough estimate of construction costs. That will be used to give the public an idea of what a new facility would look like.
Tentatively planned is construction of a one-story, 10,000-square-foot library on a portion of the lot once occupied by Stephens High School on Penobscot Street.
Advocates for a new library have said that the 1903 Carnegie library on Rumford Avenue is too small and that insufficient parking is available for patrons. That library, including a 1969 addition, houses its books and technology in a 6,200-square-foot space.
Those opposed to construction of a library have said that the area’s population has declined, eliminating the need for a new facility.
Residents must approve construction of a new library.
Sutton said taxpayers money will not be used to build a new library. Instead, the committee plans to seeks grants.
Also on Thursday, Town Manager Stephen Eldridge said the Strathglass Park Committee is looking into potential grants that would help restore and revitalize the so-called brick park housing development. A revolving loan program may also be used to help homeowners spruce up their buildings.
Strathglass Park is one of the first planned housing developments in the state, and as such, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built by paper company mogul Hugh Chisholm about a century ago to house mill employees.
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