There may be a standing building at the corner of West Tenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue before winter arrives.
Chuck Banas, public relations director with the Tyrone-Snyder Public Library, said the library’s board of directors recently approved an Outside Elevation Plan, which is the next step in the more than $600,000 building project.
“The Outside Elevation Plan is basically a laid out sketch which shows where the doors, windows and things like that will be located,” said Banas. “First, you need to have floor plans, which we approved a week ago, then those plans and an Outside Elevation Plan will be offered to the state Department of Labor and Industry for approval.”
According to Banas, upon L&I’s approval, the library then can ask borough council for a building project.
“Right now, we’re kind of just waiting for Labor and Industry to get back to us,” said Banas, “Once we get their okay, we’ll acquire the necessary permit and give our contractor the okay to go ahead and put the roof on.”
Banas said L&I should respond to their plan in no more than a month.
“We really want to get construction going before the weather gets too bad,” said Banas.
Currently, the board’s contractor, Jeff Long, is cleaning stone and other fill from the basement, preparing the site for further construction.
The project, which is being estimated at $625,000, is being partially funded through the state with a $100,000 grant. Banas said other fundraisers are being explored to generate more funding.
The Tyrone-Snyder Public Library is currently located on Logan Avenue in a 3,000-square foot building that is not handicapped accessible. There are no elevators in the two-story structure and the restrooms do not accommodate wheelchair-bound visitors.
The new building would encompass between 7,200- and 7,300-square feet with incorporated plans should the need for future expansion arise. Also, there will be better parking facilities and will be fully handicapped accessible.
“We’re also planning to build conference rooms for groups or the public to meet in,” said Banas. “These rooms will be open for use even when the library itself is not open.”
Also, Banas said the new library will contain a computer lab, a Tyrone historical room, an expanded children’s area, and, for those people who know what it’s like working on the second floor of the current building in August – a centralized air conditioning unit.
“I think this will give the community, number one, an updated, modern library which would be able to serve preschoolers through college students,” said Banas. “If you’ve been around Tyrone, you would know that that corner has just been a shell filled with stone and fill for the last eight or nine years. It’s an eyesore.
“This new building will make our downtown look just that much better.”
