After much deliberation and public feedback, Meaford Council unanimously approved the award of the tender for the New Meaford Public Library project at 11 Sykes Street North.

The Municipality has been investigating options to house the Meaford Public Library for the last several years. There is a requirement that the Library building be accessible by 2025, which the current building is not. In 2017 Council selected the former Foodland building at 11 Sykes Street North and directed staff to purchase the building.

“It has been a long road to get here, and there’s still a lot left to do.” said Treasurer/Director of Financial Services and Infrastructure Management Darcy Chapman. “The tender coming in over budget was a challenge, but through value engineering and using any and all funding sources available to us, we’ve managed to keep the impact to the taxpayers in line with the original budget.”

“We heard so many stories from library patrons - from families visiting the children’s library to adult users accessing all the Library has to offer. It’s clear that the Meaford Library is loved and appreciated by so many.” Said Mayor Barb Clumpus. “It was a difficult decision to make, but this project will provide so much to the Meaford community for another 50+ years.”

The New Library Fundraising Committee has raised over $500,000 to date of their $750,000 goal towards the project.

“It has been heartwarming to see our library champions come forward to voice their support for this project. We can’t thank them enough.” said acting CEO of the Meaford Public Library Lynne Fascinato. “We are all so excited now to break ground and get rolling on the construction.”

For more information on the library project or to make a donation, visit www.meaford.ca/newlibrary.