City’s planning: no location, no budget

Lucy-Faris Library expansion fizzles

Users of Aylmer’s Lucy-Faris Library ought to get used to the small and cumbersome space because there’s no longer an expansion plan in sight.

The city administration told city council, November 9,  that Lucy-Faris’s often-discussed need for expansion is no longer on the city’s agenda.

“We put in a lot of work (on this file), but with little results. We’ve studied the Place des Pionniers building where the library is now located and it is impossible to use the second floor to expand the library,” said André Turgeon, Deputy Director General with Gatineau. 

“We did evaluate different scenarios and some business opportunities as real-estate space became available, but nothing concrete has presented itself.  Now we are looking at municipal land (to build a new library) because we don’t see any opportunity to rent more space (or expand in the same building). We do have one proposal with a school board that we are studying,” added Turgeon.

The Bulletin has reported that the Commission Scolaire des Portages de l’Outaouais (CSPO) is eyeing municipally-owned land around the Paul Pelletier Aquatic Centre, the city pool, to build a new high school. This site has also been considered for a new library in the past, but no plan was drawn up.  This option would put the library outside Aylmer’s downtown core.

Aside from a location, the city also has not kept enough funds reserved for the library project.

“We don’t have enough money to either build a new Lucy-Faris Library or expand the Guy-Sanche Library,” stated Turgeon during the presentation.

Council had set aside $21.9 M for the Gatineau library plan in its 2015 budget, but new Plateau library will cost nearly $13 M.  That leaves less than $10 M to build a new library for Aylmer, plus expand the Guy-Sanche Library in Gatineau sector.