YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Officials with the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County will move forward with finding a new location for the Poland branch.

The library system’s board of trustees voted Tuesday to explore relocation of the existing Poland branch, which opened in 2001. The decision follows “a comprehensive, year-long assessment” led by architects and engineers from BSHM Architects and specialized consultants of the deficiencies of the branch, according to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon.

“Our board of trustees made the fiscally responsible choice to explore the relocation of the Poland branch,” Aimee Fifarek, PLYMC director and CEO, said in the news release.

“We appreciate the robust discussion by the board on this incredibly important issue,” she continued. “We have been assured by the experts that this building is safe for use. However, the problems facing this building date back to the original design and construction and they are not going away.”

The library board considered three options for the branch:

  • Maintaining the existing building at a cost of $8.5 million, focusing on essential repairs and system replacements, with a 30% contingency to correct design flaws and prevent future system failures.
  • Renovating the existing building at a cost of $16.1 million, which would include the items in the first option, with added interior renovations and upgrades to improve function and aesthetics.
  • Constructing a new or renovating an alternate facility, at a cost of $11.5 million to $15 million for a new build or renovating an existing structure within that square footage range.  

Both options involving the existing site would have involved closing the branch for up to two years and providing reduced services from a temporary location.

PLYMC hired an architect to develop a scope of work and put a price tag on it, Jordan Shaver, Poland branch chief operating officer, said during a phone interview. The library then hired a second group of architects and engineers to supplement the first report with ideas to increase the building’s longevity.  

“The second group of architects and engineers understood that the cost of that second option … would relate really well with a new build cost,” he added.

Deficiencies in the existing building identified in the report include floor slab heave in the southeast wing, with conditions including differential vertical displacement ranging from 1.5 inches to 3 inches; “significant” heaving observed in the slab-on-grade floor area within the children’s area, electrical room and southeast corridor; and floor slab pushing against the wall base in several locations on interior walls.

Other problems include chimney deterioration; exterior door and window issues, including warping and water damage; warped and deteriorated siding; hairline cracks in drywall and plaster; and evidence of ongoing water infiltration, including visible staining, dampness and efflorescence on interior finishes. 

The report also found accessibility issues related to restrooms and the main circulation desk, a chiller that is “beyond its expected service life” and a lack of dedicated spaces for teens, interactive kids spaces, indoor or outdoor play spaces, study/meeting rooms or innovation lab/maker space.   

No potential sites have been identified for a potential new Poland branch because library officials didn’t feel they could have conversations, “even quiet conversations,” about an alternative site before getting direction from the board, Fifarek said. The next steps will include a news conference planned for Thursday, during which library officials will share with the community the information they received from the architects and engineers. 

“We will do our best to be completely transparent about the challenges with that building, as well as to walk that fine line between honesty and scaring people,” she added. “I said during the board meeting, every expert we’ve talked to said the building is structurally safe to be in for staff and patrons, and it’s our intention to remain in the building while we take the next steps in this process.”

Poland, which has a cafe and operates the Friends of the Library bookstore in the lower level, is 36,000 square feet total, but the existing operational floor there is about 15,000 square feet, Shaver said. The architects and engineers PLYMC engaged recommended that an 18,000-square-foot library – about the size of the Canfield branch – “would be more than enough” to serve the Poland community.

Such a building would cost an estimated $13.1 million.

“If we are able to find an existing building that can be renovated, that would bring the cost down, but we have no way of knowing that until we identify an exact site,” Fifarek said.

“There’s a lot of work that needs done before any shovels are stuck in the ground,” including finding an architect and designing a building, “being very intentional with that design for the community and for the longevity of the library there,” Shaver said.

“We estimated approximately one to two years for any version of this,” depending on how quickly the library can find a site and get approval from the board for that site, Fifarek said.

Pictured at top: The Poland Library. (Photo via LibraryVisit.org)