Sf_revamp

Jeff Green | Jul 12, 2007

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South Frontenac looks to revamp office space, build library

byJeff Green

South Frontenac Council has taken another step towards consolidating the township’s administrative operations at the township office in Sydenham, and exploring the possibility of building a brand new library at the same time.

The architectural firm of Shoalts and Zaback from Kingston will be looking at the township-owned property at the rear of the existing township offices. The property extends beyond a fence at the back of the current parking lot all the way past the Sydenham football field.

They will be determining whether there is sufficient space available to build a new, larger library to serve the needs of Sydenham and the surrounding region.

“We have identified that it would benefit the township if our administration was centralized here in Sydenham,” said South Frontenac Chief Administrative Officer Gord Burns.

Currently there are six administrators, including the public works manager, working out of the township public works garage at Keeley Road, southwest of the village of Sydenham, and the easiest way to find space for those people at the township office would be to appropriate the space now occupied by the Sydenham branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.

In 2004, a services review report from the library called for an expansion of the Sydenham library to at least 5,000 square feet, and an increase in its hours of operation.

“In the end it will up to the township to pay for a new library, and we will have to decide how large a building we can fit in the space that is available and how much we can afford to spend on it,” said Burns.

The report to be prepared by Shoalts and Zaback will cost he township between $3,000 and $5,000.