Now that the Westmont Public Library has a new roof, planning for the future of the building is set to begin.
The library announced this week work is complete on the new roof, a roughly $800,000 project.
The construction bid approved with Rockford-based Christiansen Roofing for an estimated $646,056 resulted in the Library Board of Trustees setting aside $825,000 to cover construction, engineering, project management and unexpected expenses.
The construction project began in July, and has reached what was called the substantial completion phase, said Kate Buckson, the library’s marketing coordinator. Only a few site clean-up items and a final inspection remain, she said.
While final costs should be available by the end of the month, Buckson said anticipated total costs will be about $100,000 under what was budgeted, including one additional change order for additional caulking.
Library Director Christine Kuhn said there have been no roof leaks since early September when the tiles started to go on the roof, even with the constant rains fell in October.
“I am very pleased with the outcome. No leaks for the first time since before I started (here) in 2001,” she said. “I didn't expect it to be such a visual improvement over the cement tile roof, but it is a beautiful roof.”
The surplus loan funds, after all roof costs, are to be spent on completing the second floor renovations, at about $50,000, beginning in December. The remaining funds will go toward the conversion to energy efficient lighting, currently estimated at $100,000, officials said.
Library Board President Joyce Fedeczko said the roof has a 55-year warranty on the tiles, plus a 20-year warranty on materials and labor.
“We wanted to put roof issues to rest not only for our tenure, but for our lifetimes,” Fedeczko said.
A detailed project manual is being assembled so future boards, librarians and facility managers will know how the roof was constructed and what steps need to be taken to maintain it for the next 75 years, officials said.
As this project comes to an end, the library is beginning to make long-term strategic plans. Last week, the Library Board held a Strategic Planning Committee of the Whole meeting to start looking at long-term needs for the library, board member Chris Gorman said.
While no decisions were made at the meeting, Kuhn said the board will seek community input before making any decisions on future planning.
“The Strategic Planning Committee of the Whole discussed how they wanted to approach the planning process, reviewed some options for gathering community input and requested (me) to obtain cost information and more details from other community organizations,” Kuhn said.
