Berwick council hears about plans for library improvements

Add one more thing to the list of things the coronavirus made more complicated: plans to improve Berwick's St. Mary Parish Library branch.

"COVID took over the project," Director Julie Culler told the Berwick Town Council on Tuesday.

But the project is moving toward what the library hopes will be a November groundbreaking.

This is what library officials and a building committee have come up with:

--Culler said the idea is to put a library entrance on the Fifth Street side and an exit on the Texas Street side.

--Plans are to have a drop-box slot so patrons can return books without coming in the library.

--The library will have a drive-up window to allow patrons to pick up items.

--There will be what Culler called a "room within a room," not a full meeting room but an area with a white board.

--An outdoor reading area is planned.

--A multipurpose room for library functions such as lectures and children's events is part of the project.

"We're trying to get it as nice as we can for a reasonable budget," Culler told the council.

The price tag will become clear after bid documents are prepared and the project is put to for bids.

Culler also made a pitch for the 5.72-mill parish property tax renewal that will be on Saturday's ballot parishwide except in Morgan City.

Berwick's town government also has a 6-mill tax renewal up for a vote Saturday, as do Water and Sewer Commission No. 1 (9.99 mills) and Morgan City (2 mills for Municipal Auditorium operations and maintenance).

Also Tuesday, the council approved the introduction of a handful of ordinances, including one for the 2020-21 budget.

The proposed budget is for $5.6 million, $200,000 more than the current budget.

"We've got a lot of things going on," Mayor Duval Arthur said.

Some of the things the town government hopes will be going on were the subjects of a series of resolutions supporting projects for inclusion in the state capital outlay budget.

They include sewer system improvements in the areas near Fourth, Sixth, Francis, Texas and Utah streets; upgraded water lines; and another round of new water meters than can be read through wireless communication.

Another introductory ordinance approved Tuesday would renew the $25 per acre drainage fee that Berwick property owners have paid for years.

ST. MARY NOW

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