The City of Kenora will foot the whole bill for replacing the roof at the Keewatin Public Library.
The cost is expected to be in the $500,000 range.
City CAO Kyle Attanasio says there are positives and negatives in going with this proposal.
“It would allow library service to be restored, seniors’ services to be restored and that would allow us to start fairly immediately, if we decide to self-fund that,” Attanasio told council at their open meeting on Tuesday.
“Again, on the con side, we’ve got the concerns about the age of the building and the unforeseen future there. Also, it would be a bigger hit to taxpayers and to the city from a financial standpoint.”
Councillor Barb Manson spoke for most of council and says it’s time to replace the roof once and for all.
“Let’s just get to it. Repair it. Take it out of reserves. I think this has gone on long enough.”
Another option favoured by city administration was making a grant application to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, but that would delay the project, and there is no guarantee that the grant will be approved.
