Lucy-Faris Library expansion

Aylmer’s library on the back burner

Enough is enough! Richard Bégin, councillor for Deschênes, is tired of waiting around for the city to invest in the undersized Lucy-Faris Library. He wants the city to act now.

“After 15 years it’s appropriate to become impatient. Patience has not produced results,” said Mr. Bégin during a scrum with media after learning that the Lucy-Faris Library file will accumulate more dust.

“Last year I compromised, accepting that the city prioritize a library for the Plateau; now I realize we have not progressed with the Lucy-Faris Library,” he said.

During budget talks, a civil servant from Gatineau's Service des arts, said his department was indeed working on a new library in the Plateau. He referred to the Lucy-Faris Library project as “on the back burner”.

The official told council that his department will provide strategies for Lucy-Faris in 2016. He added that Lucy-Faris and the Guy-Sanche libraries (Gatineau sector) were equal priorities before, but that Guy-Sanche will likely top the Lucy-Faris’ needs since “it represents 50% of (all) traffic in Gatineau libraries, and we consider this when we need to invest.”

Aylmer cannot lose its commercial life, lose its library, lose its municipal court -- always lose something -- without ever getting anything in return! - Councillor Richard Bégin

Mr. Bégin disagreed with vigour, arguing that the city had committed to prioritize Lucy-Faris after the Plateau library. “Aylmer’s population, like me, are losing patience. Aylmer cannot lose its commercial life, lose its library, lose its municipal court -- always lose something -- without ever getting anything in return,” said Bégin.

The official noted that more studies are needed for the Lucy-Faris Library, resulting in more teeth-grinding by Mr. Bégin.

“We’ve been talking about Lucy-Faris for 15 years and there’s nothing going on! I’m very disappointed and frustrated. I have a big problem with the way this file is being handled, and I insist there be corrective action. We have the information required from a report made in 2005 by Gagné-Leclerc (management consulting firm) which identified the library's needs. Now we are in 2015!”

 

The need for additional space at Lucy Faris has been longstanding. The problem emerged after the library was moved a dozen years ago from the former municipal court to Place des Pionniers. The plan then was the library could expand upwards, but it turned out that Place des Pionniers was structurally unsound for two stories of books. No one had checked this out. As a result, the library and services were condensed on one floor. This was to be temporary, but years later it persists.

“We must be realistic. Aylmer has three councillors, in Gatineau there are seven. Clearly there’s a power struggle which is why certain projects get prioritized as they do,” noted Bégin. “I’ve been fighting for Aylmer for 40 years and I will continue to do so. There’s a crucial need for the library, and we must act on it.”