Sewickley Township library prepares to reopen, plans for a new building

Sewickley Township Public Library officials are moving forward with plans to build a library adjacent to H.W. Good Elementary School in Herminie.

The estimated cost of a new facility could be around $1 million, said Marci Suggars, library board president.

A capital campaign and government funding could cover the cost, library board member Katie McKinley said.

The library was located in the basement of the Sewickley Township Recreation Center, but the building was abruptly closed early last month after structural issues were found.

Since then, the library has found other sites in Herminie to host its events.

By mid-April, the library hopes to be settled into temporary digs at the former sewage authority and tax collector’s office at Sewickley Avenue and Fourth Street.

Township officials have converted the space so it can be used as a library.

“We just want to have a functional place for the community,” library director Mandy Luchs said. “The goal is to be open and available.”

Moving the books and other materials is one hurdle to opening, with another being internet service for its computer system, Luchs said. A computer room for patrons may fit only three of the library’s four computers.

The library staff had to weed out books and other materials in preparing for the move.

“It was like choosing your favorite child,” assistant librarian Crystal Gill said.

How “temporary” the new library site will be remains to be seen. Luchs said they could be there for a few years.

Library building plans

The library board’s quest for a new facility cleared one hurdle when Sewickley’s zoning hearing board approved the library’s request this month for variances so the new building could be constructed on a .6-acre plot instead of 1 acre and its setback from a property line could be less than 100 feet.

The library board had the authority to apply for the variances because it had a sales agreement with the Yough School District, which owns the parcel adjacent to the school building.

The board envisions a 4,800-square-foot building with 23 parking spaces, said library board member Charles Schropp. The temporary space, by comparison, is only about 1,600 square feet.

The district provided the library board last year with a tentative agreement to sell the parcel for a nominal fee, said Jared Filapose, school board president. The school board will have to vote on selling the property to the library.

If the library board is unable to raise the money for the building, the property would revert back to the district, Filapose said.

“We’re glad to help them. Everybody on the (school) board will be for it,” Filapose said.