Volusia County, FL - On Thursday, the Volusia County Council discussed the re-opening of the City Island Regional Library in Daytona Beach and approved the purchase of new furniture for the library after the old furniture was damaged by Hurricane Irma.
The City Island Library, located at 105 E Magnolia Ave., was closed due to flood damage from Hurricane Irma in September, but the library is slated to open again this April. The library will have $271,341 in new furniture, including many bookshelves, thanks to approval of a measure by the County Council. The furniture will be purchased from Library Interiors of Florida, and the cost is expected to be eligible for FEMA reimbursement.
"This is a destination library. It's a beautiful facility, and it is going to be gorgeous when it's completed. They have completely gutted that and are still gutting it. From the walls, from two and a half feet down, everything has been replaced," said Council member Billie Wheeler.
Wheeler said that the Council had received some negative comments with concerns that the library would become a place for homeless to congregate. She addressed those concerns and said they were unfounded. She mentioned that there are places in the County for the homeless to go other than the library.
Council members also said that, despite speculation, there are no plans to tear down the City Island facility or move it from its current location. "For the run that we see, there is no plan to remove that building, and hopefully, we will get reimbursed from FEMA and our insurance," said County Manager Jim Dinneen. "The downside is the damage and the time it takes. The up-side is we're gonna be in that building for the long run. You're gonna have a lot nicer facility than you had before the storm."
Council Chair Ed Kelley suggested that the County also look toward the future when building other libraries. "If we ever build another library, I think we need to look at its uses and where we can expand, maybe the use of computers and services and things like that. Libraries are not what they were 50 years ago," Kelley explained.
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