A July report will help determine the Moniteau County Library's future.
Moniteau County Library board members received an evaluation of the current library in late July.
The building is 158 years old, and assessments show it is "at or near the end of its service life."
The board evaluated an on-site inspection giving insight into the 501 Oak St., building's stability as well as steps that need to be taken to preserve the building moving forward. According to the board, the library will need more space to operate; however, deciding whether to add onto the current structure or build a new location has been up in the air.
Members initially decided to move forward with a new location, although considering the building's long history as the local library, they took a step back to evaluate the possibility of adding to the structure.
During the board's July 20 meeting, board member Paul Bloch relayed information from an on-site inspection the Allstate Consultants LLC engineering firm conducted. The company's findings summarized the overall state of the building as well as what could be fixed within the structure.
Built in 1864, the building has developed a number of structural issues over the years. While the report said there is no immediate danger to the building or its occupants, there are five major findings that need to be addressed.
These include past moisture-related damage to masonry bearing walls; exterior southeast walls bulging outward; exterior walls in need of tuck-pointing (mortar between bricks updated); ponding issues affecting the flat roof; and stormwater drainage which affects the walls.
The board decided to focus on fixing the southeast exterior walls and the stormwater drainage affecting the building. Members will be looking into what they can do to correct these issues before they begin to evaluate other repairs.
The board is communicating with Allstate and the engineering firm SOA Architecture (based in Columbia) for bids on potential brickwork.
The report said although the structure could be repaired for extended use it is apparent the building is at or near the end of its intended service life and due to the degraded condition of the building, repairing the structure may not be reasonable in terms of cost.
Library Director Connie Walker said the report informs the board on how to invest money in a library facility as well as what the best method for long-term use of a building would be.
According to her, the next step is to create a committee for patrons and residents to come together to discuss the future of the Moniteau County Library. An open forum where the topic can be discussed between locals, architects and firms would be a great insight into what options are possible.
The Moniteau County Library has hard copies of the on-site inspection report available to the community. They are free for the public to take and can be found at their location at 501 South Oak St. It can also be found on the website moniteaucountylibrary.org under staff blogs.