October 21, 2011

RAYMOND LIBRARY PROJECT TO GET $3 MILLION

By Melissa Traynor, Hartford Courant

The project to expand Raymond Library, which has been in the works for years, is about to receive its final $3 million.

According to legislators who represent East Hartford, the funding allows the $6.1 million project to move forward early next year after state bond commission approval.

In a press release Thursday, Rep. Henry Genga said the funding is expected to be approved due to a recommendation by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, whom legislators thanked for selecting a "shovel-ready" project with both short- and long-term impact.

Last month, Mayor Marcia Leclerc, Library Director Patrick Jones, Genga, Sen. Gary LeBeau and Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams toured the library, pointing out different areas that illustrate how cramped the current space is.

During the visit, Jones said plans to expand the library call for doubling its size to about 35,000 square feet in usable space.

Leclerc said that the town has already bonded a little over $2 million and is slated to receive a $1 million construction grant from the Connecticut State Library — also subject to state bond commission approval at the Oct. 28 meeting.

The project is expected to create about 400 construction jobs throughout the different phases of the expansion and openings for new, permanent library positions.

"This is a great day for our community of East Hartford," Leclerc said in a news release. "The expansion of the library is a pathway to success for our community. It serves as a catalyst for education, job creation and technology."