March 10, 2015
State Representative Susan Johnson (D-Windham) announced Tuesday that a $500,000 state grant for the Willimantic Public Library renovation project is slated for approval by the State Bond Commission in a special meeting Tuesday.
Johnson praised the Willimantic Public Library Board of Directors, the Connecticut Library Board and Governor Dannel P. Malloy, who chairs the bond commission, for their critical support of the project.
“I am very pleased that Governor Malloy placed this significant grant proposal on the bond agenda so we can go forward with the library renovation,” Johnson said. “The Willimantic and state library boards have been working long and hard on this project and it’s wonderful to see it moving forward. The governor and library boards recognized this project as a crucial part of education for the local community, and I am very happy.”
The state will pay half the cost of the $1 million top-to-bottom renovation; Windham voters have already approved borrowing the other $500,000.
The library was built in 1968; the only upgrade since has been the addition of an elevator. Planned renovations include HVAC and plumbing work as well as new Internet wiring; state funds will pay for a new public meeting room, a teen room on the second floor and staff work space.
“The community of Windham has been behind this project from day one, and now it’s great to hear that the state is making a substantial contribution to this project as well,” said Windham Public Library Director J. Drusilla Carter.
The State Bond Commission is scheduled to meet at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 17, in Room 1-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.