Back in May of last year, the Town of Smithers announced that they had acquired the building at 3761 3rd Avenue that was formerly known as Heartstrings Home Decor & Gifts, with the intention of turning it into the new home of the Smithers Public Library, as it offers double the space of the current library.
CFTK-TV recently spoke with Smithers Mayor Gladys Atrill about where the idea for the new library originated, how long it has been the works for and how they formalized a plan to pay for it;
“There was a long need for an improved library, well predating my time on council. When we had a project a few years ago and we estimated the cost to build a new library, the project cost then was over $16 Million, so it was beyond our ability to pay for it. Roll the clock forward to when the Heartstrings building came up for sale, council made the decision to acquire it and now we also have to finish the renovations that are required to turn it into our future library. We came up with a couple of ideas on how to pay for the renovations, which have to happen prior to the library moving in. We did have money in the Resource Benefit Alliance, but there was also some desire from council to put some pressure on the community to help fundraise for all the amenities that people want as well. The decision was made that we’ll put $1.5 Million from the Resource Benefit Alliance in to give some assurance to the staff and other library folks that we’re driving this forward, and we approved a borrowing bylaw of going up to 1.5 million if it’s needed.”
The Town has about $3 Million that will be put towards transforming the building into the new library, but there is still a hope among Town Council that community members will raise funds to help as well, in order to keep taxation down.
Mayor Atrill also said that the Town will most likely have someone start working on the building sometime this fall, with it’s completion estimated to be sometime in 2027.
As for Heartstrings, it’s still in business, but has moved to 1207 Main Street.