The Palmerston Library is officially reopened for business.
Yesterday morning, the Palmerston branch of the Wellington County Library welcomed local residents and interested parties to attend the 11am ribbon cutting ceremony at the refurbished facility. The library was packed with eager citizens, children, many local politicians as well as municipal staff who joined members of the library board for the festivities.
Among local political figures in attendance were Wellington County Warden George Bridge, as well as Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece and Perth-Wellington MP John Nater. Bridge says he is so gratified with the library reopening.
“We are very excited about this, and as you can see by the attendance here the residents are as well. We really revamped the library system here in Wellington County, and are so pleased with what we have done," he says. "To take this old building and conserve it and redesign it is such a great joy, and it preserves the history of Palmerston and the county.”
Lloyd Grinham, the principal architect of Grinham Architects, designed the newly minted library. Grinham says it was a pleasure to work again with Wellington County, a working relationship that began in 2008 with the Elora and Mount Forest libraries.
“Categorically, the County of Wellington is such a great client, they really get it, and I can’t always say that on other projects," says Grinham. "They understand the importance of these projects, and they don’t waste money. They know how to approach these things and ensure that they serve their citizens with high quality facilities. It was a gratifying day for us to see this process finished.”
Collaborative Structures Limited was the contractor for the project, which was nearly a two-year process from the inception of the idea for the mass renovation. The upper and lower levels have been revamped with new technology, and the children’s area has been fully redone as well.
Pictured L-R
Councillor Neil Driscoll, John Nater (Perth Wellington MP), Randy Pettapiece (Perth Wellington MPP), Warden George Bridge, Councillor Rob Black (Library Board Chair), Jennifer Dixon (Library Board Member) and Murray McCabe (County Chief Librarian).