Community ‘clamouring’ for library space

A sewage break at the Dartmouth North Community Centre has left patrons without a space to gather since last March.  

The building, which housed the Dartmouth North Library, experienced flooding in March and has been closed since for renovations. The library’s collection has since been moved to a portable on the premises, which can only accommodate seven patrons and has no bathroom.

“You had several inches worth of mess in there, and that requires removing the lower chunks of all the walls, all the electrical was damaged. So, it’s just the damage is just very considerable, and it’s taking a while for it to work through,” said District 5 Coun. Sam Austin.

In a statement to The Signal, city spokeswoman Sarah Brannen said that while the municipality will reopen the recreation centre in January, there is no estimate on when the library will reopen.

She added that the cost of the renovation hasn’t been determined, but that an insurance claim has been filed.

In its most recent quarterly financial report, the city does not outline the cost of the library repairs. It does include $100,000 to cover increased deficits due to “facility failures.” 

Chris McFadden is a library worker at the Dartmouth North Library. He’s worked in the portable this fall.

He says patron traffic has decreased since the flood. Students from John Martin Junior High continue to visit the library, but patrons are no longer able to hang out in the space.

“We were a pretty big space for the young folks to come over and hang out at their lunch break and after school,” said McFadden.

He says the biggest issue pertaining to the portable is the lack of space — within its confines, the library cannot provide programming and services that it typically does with a larger space.

“The community is clamouring to get the space back,” said McFadden.

He said the city has yet to inform them on when renovations will be complete. Austin said that “people do miss it, and there’s frustration that it is taking as long as it is.”