Potential fire hazard closes Heritage Library

The only public library serving New Kent and Charles City counties is closed indefinitely in the wake of inspections that revealed the building’s electrical system could pose a fire hazard.

Heritage Public Library’s 11-member Board of Trustees, meeting in emergency session on the evening of Jan. 7, voted to immediately close the Providence Forge location. All library events and activities have been canceled until further notice.

Problems with the electrical system surfaced during an inspection just over two weeks ago. The library board had commissioned the inspection as part of a report being compiled on the overall condition of the structure, library director Alan Bernstein said last week. Follow-up inspections by a New Kent-based electrical contractor and county building officials confirmed the bad news.

“There are a number of deficiencies, the most serious of which is the electrical system,” library board chairman Lee Tyson said last week.

The original part of the 4,500 square-foot structure was built in the 1930s with two additions over the next 20 years bringing the building up to its current size. The library, founded in 1981, moved into the building in August 1984.

“The building’s electrical system was never intended to handle the type of equipment there now such as computers,” Tyson said. “The electrical panel boxes are in terrible shape, wiring in is terrible shape, there are exposed wires, and the room where the panel boxes are located floods.”

But that’s not all.

“Moisture has led to deterioration of the floors, and inadequate ventilation in the attic is causing roof problems,” he said. “The plumbing is functional for now, but problems exist. Drainage is terrible around the building, and parking is inadequate so there are safety concerns.”

A county building inspector who visited the site on Jan. 8 ordered that the electrical system must be repaired in order for the building to reopen to the public, Tyson said.

New Kent County Administrator John Budesky said he sent the inspector to the library after learning about the situation from Tyson the night before.

“The inspector confirmed that the electrical system is not up to code and could not support opening the facility to the public,” Budesky said last week.

Budesky added, however, that the county cannot make decisions regarding the library’s management since it is a non-profit entity independent of both counties.

“We’ve done about as much as we can as a county,” he said. “If they have to move, the Board of Supervisors will offer up as much assistance as possible so they can get services opened up to New Kent citizens as soon as possible.”

Options now are to either fix the electrical problem or find temporary space to house the library. The question remains whether it will be more cost effective to stay put or move. Tyson said Bernstein has been charged with obtaining repair cost estimates as well as moving costs should a decision be made to relocate.

Library officials are working to identify possible sites in each county. Tyson said two potential locations have been identified in Providence Forge, but he declined to give specifics.

Budesky, meanwhile, said one potential location in Providence Forge needs work. He also said the owner of New Kent Commons on Route 155 near the Interstate 64 interchange has offered space available there.

Charles City Administrator Jack Miniclier said on Monday he had been advised last week concerning the library situation by Tyson who is scheduled to report to the county’s Board of Supervisors at the board’s Jan. 22 meeting.

“They’ve been keeping us up to date,” Miniclier said. “We are reviewing several possibilities at this time and will be able to talk more about those at the board meeting.”

Miniclier said upon learning about the situation, he told Tyson he was disappointed those responsible for the library had not paid closer attention to the condition of the library building.

Relocating the library could mean splitting the library into branches in each county. But Tyson said before that decision is made, figures must be determined on how many hours each branch would be open, how each branch would be staffed, and what it would cost to divide the library’s 43,000 books, tapes, and videos.

The library board met last Saturday afternoon to further discuss the situation, but no concrete decision has been made on how to proceed. Tyson, meanwhile, updated New Kent supervisors during the board’s Monday meeting. (See the story beginning on page 1.)

“In the interim between fixing or relocating, we’re going to try to provide some library activities elsewhere,” Tyson said. “We recognize it’s a needed community service, but we also want to provide it in a safe environment.”

This Saturday’s annual Winnie the Pooh birthday celebration has been canceled. Patrons who have library volumes that must be returned can continue to do so utilizing the drop box at the library’s front door.

“Neither the library board nor the counties want this to drag on,” Bernstein said. “We all want a solution as soon as possible so library services can be restored.”