he sign warning of asbestos has finally been removed from the future location of the Crossfield Municipal Library in the former Oliver Hotel according to Crossfield Chief Administrative Officer Ken Bosman.
In his report to Town council during the March 1 meeting, Bosman noted the building passed air tests and was deemed an asbestos free zone.
With the Oliver Hotel being more than 90 years old, Bosman said there was concerns about the quality of the numerous renovations to the building over the years, but the deconstruction process didn’t reveal any “showstoppers” that would hinder the completion of the library project.
“This was the grey hair portion of the project where we really didn’t know what we were getting into,” he said. “It could have turned out a whole lot worse.”
The interior of the building is quite spectacular, Bosman said, with impressive 3.67 metre ceilings on the main floor. The deconstruction team was also able to substantially salvage the old bar, he said, and even managed to make the overall square metres of the building larger when they realized older renovations didn’t tear down existing walls before constructing new ones.
Coming slightly under budget on the stripping and gutting of the interior, Bosman said the cosmetic improvements to the exterior of the building should start ahead of what was previously planned.
He hopes the library will be completed and ready to open by Canada Day.
“We’re past the danger point,” Bosman said. “From now on, it’s pretty much routine renovation construction as far as those things go.”
False alarm bylaw
Council gave three readings and unanimous approval to a bylaw that established a fee structure that charges residents and business for excessive fire services false alarm calls.
With the passing of 2016-03 Fire Services False Alarm Bylaw, Bosman said the first two false alarm calls will be free of charge, but subsequent calls to a residence would cost the homeowner $150 while business or commercial entities would be charged $250.
False alarm calls have not become a problem in Crossfield just yet, Bosman said, however, with this being a problem in many other communities, council came to the conclusion the Town should have a regulatory process in place.
“There’s a cost associated to (responding to a false alarm),” he said. “(This bylaw) is basically to ensure people don’t chronically call up the fire department on false pretenses.”
