Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 18, 1993 TAG: 9306180216
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Richard J. Fitts, an architect with Fitts, Lazaron & Associates, wrapped up his visit to Montgomery County on Thursday night by hearing suggestions from town residents.
Fitts met with members of the Blacksburg Town Council and the county Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night to discuss options for the library.
The Board of Supervisors this week authorized County Administrator Betty Thomas to sign the $27,500 contract with the Virginia Beach architectural firm.
The first step, Fitts said, is deciding whether the library should be demolished and completely rebuilt or if it's possible to renovate the building.
A consultant hired in 1988 to study renovation possibilities recommended that the building be torn down, but Fitts said his initial feeling was that the 14,000-square-foot building can be renovated.
"I'm talking about making that building as attractive and as serviceable as you would like a new building to be," he said. "That library can be transformed like you would not believe."
Fitts said it would be 20 to 30 percent cheaper to renovate the building than to build a new one.
The library - housed in an old lumber company - uses about 9,000 square feet of its building. The remaining space, not suitable for library use, is a county storage area.
The renovation would make use of all 14,000 square feet and several thousand more would be added.
One problem with renovating the building, Kipps said, is that the county wants the option of expanding the library again in the future.
That might not be possible without a new building, he said.
The Board of Supervisors plans to put a bond issue on the ballot in November to pay for the library. In November 1990, voters killed a bond issue that included money for the library.
About 48,000 volumes are stuffed into the Draper Road library, which outgrew its walls several years ago. The library staff has also dealt with a leaky roof and poor lighting for quite awhile.
Fitts said the new library would feature computer cataloging, low-glare lighting and a meeting room that would seat 120 people.
Fitts, Lazaron & Associates has built libraries in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Chesterfield County and is renovating the library in Bedford.
Supervisor Henry Jablonski said he was impressed with work the architectural firm had done in other counties.
The firm's contract with the county calls for the preliminary design work to be finished by September.
Fitts said it would take about a year to renovate the existing library or construct a new building once the funds are raised.
by CNB