FORKS — The North Olympic Library System Board of Trustees is expected to award a design contract for renovation of the Forks Public Library on Thursday.
The board will meet at 5 p.m. at the Forks Public Library, 171 Forks Ave., Forks.
Public comment will be taken on this and other items.
The proposed contract would not exceed about $30,000, said Paula Barnes, library director.
Jerry Schlie of Beaver is the architect recommended for board approval, she said, adding he was culled from three responses to a call for bids.
Schlie was the designer and project manager for the recent Clallam Bay Public Library upgrade, she said.
The architect would prepare an initial design of the Forks Library renovation.
Providing seed money for the upgrade of the library in Forks was one of the items on the list of upgrades and services that the library system said would be funded by a levy lid lift that voters approved in 2009.
Library officials have estimated that to do everything needed at the Forks Library, some $800,000 would be needed.
That is the estimated cost of replacing the flat roof with a pitched version, upgrading the electrical and plumbing systems and renovating the interior, Barnes said.
“NOLS can’t pay for that entire amount out of the levy, but we can contribute a portion of it,” Barnes said Tuesday.
Friends of the Forks Library is interested in raising part of it, she said.
So the next steps in upgrading the structure will be to secure a contract with an architect “and do a building assessment to get a better idea of costs and determine what our funding options are,” Barnes said.
For more information about the library board, visit www.nols.org, phone Library Director Paula Barnes at 360-417-8525 or email Director@nols.org.
For more information about the Forks library, visit the NOLS website or phone 360-374-6402.
