County councillor Rod Finnie appeared very reluctant to say “I told you so” on Oct. 30, but he did make a point that something he warned about for the Arthur library should never happen again.
Finnie said he did not want to belabor the issue, but a report on the progress of the Arthur library showed site remediation costs of $263,900.
At the February 2007 county council meeting, there was some discussion about the Charles Street site and its suitability.
At one point, the former Arthur council, which owned the lands, had the soil tested and found diesel fuel contamination. The site was then excavated to about 12 feet deep and that soil replaced. The property had been used previously as a feed mill.
Finnie noted that he had raised the issue when the county was buying the Arthur land, and hopes such an issue will not occur again.
“I hope we’re getting a phase one environmental report for every site we build upon so we don’t get into this again,” he said.
Warden John Green pointed out that Wellington North Township is paying about $140,000 of the site remediation costs, which is about 65% of the total site remediation bill.
Library committee chairman Brad Whitcombe said that the county did have some money in the budget for site remediation.
“We knew there were some issues going in,” he said.
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In other business, councillor Lynda White said people in Arthur are thrilled with the progress being made on the library, and asked when it will be officially opened.
Green explained that the work has gone well, but there have been delays. He laughed and said he had to make a call about the official date of the opening for a bronze plaque that is being made. He noted that the official date will be Jan. 9, no matter when the actual date is.
Such plaques must be ordered months in advance.
He said the library should be open early in the new year.
“We’re doing well on finances [close to budget] but not so well on time,” he said.
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Meanwhile in Elora, residents are telling county councillor Jean Innes that the like the look of the plans for the Carnegie library there.
Innes noted the drawings and sketches of the new library are in the building now, and “feedback is very positive. People are saying it looks like it did before – and that’s what we wanted to hear.”
There are major renovations planned, to bring the library up to date and also make it more accessible.
