The Library Board of the Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library has unanimously selected Meridian Contracting Services as the general contractor for its renovation project.

Meridian bid $2,668,000. The two other bids received were from Troy-based CE Gleason Constructors at $2,397,000 and Spence Brothers at $2,894,000. The total project costs are expected to be around $3.7 million.

According to Library Director Eric Magness Eubank, “Meridian has a strong reputation for doing projects the right way. While we had an attractive bid from a downstate firm, the board strongly felt we needed to support our local contractors in these tough times. We’re looking forward to working with Todd Britton and Trent Sherman and we know they’ll do a really good job.”

The library will shut down its downtown facility while construction is proceeding. It will be moving to a temporary location in early August, to be followed by asbestos abatement.

“The library hopes to have some form of physical services available to the public before Labor Day,” Magness Eubank said in a press release. “We had originally planned to remain in the building and operate out of the facility while construction was going on, but the board discovered we could save some money and also be able to offer public services faster by shutting down completely and moving operations to temporary quarters.”

The library is closed now because of prepping for construction, not because of the pandemic. The project will completely renovate the library facility and is expected to be complete in June 2021.

For more information, visit the Alpena County Library Facebook page or the website at www.alpenalibrary.org.