Marianna Black Library expansion: asbestos abatement narrowed, Glass Foundation gives $150,000

Ellen Snodgrass reported quarterly progress on the Marianna Black Library expansion project, including recent construction milestones, abatement work and fundraising updates.

Snodgrass said phase one is vertical on both sides of the building with interior and exterior framing underway in the community room and south side addition; crews planned to pour the first‑floor slab that week with a goal of getting areas dried in and the roofing completed within a month. She said asbestos‑abatement work that began recently turned out to affect only about 250 square feet rather than the 1,400 square feet originally estimated, lowering abatement costs.

Snodgrass announced a $150,000 gift from the Glass Foundation toward construction, which staff said reduced a near‑term funding gap from about $800,000 to $650,000. She told commissioners the project had raised about $6.5 million of a $7.1 million target and that phase‑one completion was anticipated in September with phase two by Feb. 1. The library continues to operate limited services in the community room during construction.

Next steps: construction will continue, staff and architects will meet every other week and the library will continue fundraising and update the project website for donors and residents.