August 17, 2011

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

City Finances No Red Light For Library Expansion,

says Councillor Bailão

Toronto, ON – Last night nearly 100 residents of the Junction Triangle area met to discuss the expansion of the Perth-Dupont library located in their area.

Joined by area Councillor Ana Bailão, as well as Library Board member Councillor Sarah Doucette and Library Services City Staff, this meeting raised awareness among local residents about the options facing their local branch, and ways to expand it.

“The Perth-Dupont Library has been ranked as one of Toronto’s lowest circulation branches, and yet, there are waiting lists for nearly every program. Anyone who uses the Perth/Dupont library knows it’s overcrowded and clearly circulation is not the measure of a library’s value,” says Councillor Bailão

This strong community interest has been spearheaded by Junction Triangle resident Kevin Putnam. In introducing the project, Putnam shared that residents of the Junction Triangle recognize that the City’s financial situation posses challenges and want to find ways of creating a public-private partnership that will lead to an expansion of library services in the neighbourhood.

“The current environment doesn’t mean children should be denied better community services or that we are going to stop making a great service like the library even better. We just have to find other ways to fund it instead of relying on taxpayers to cover all the costs,” said Putnam.

The project plans to combine community fundraising monies with Section 37 monies, financial compensation for increases in height or density of new buildings, from a nearby Dupont and Landsdowne development.

The two popular choices for the project would be either to rebuild a bigger library on the existing location, or to find a new location and build a much larger library. Both scenarios carry a large price tag, from 3-6 million dollars, but the approach has been realistic and level-headed.

“With Council’s current financial situation, it is clear that there is no City money for this project, but now is the time to be innovative. We have a motivated community and new development coming to our area. This is an opportunity to think creatively about how we can do this project ourselves,” said Councillor Bailão.

The next step will be to hold a meeting with a core group of residents to decide what the scope of the expansion will be and to develop a fundraising strategy.

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For further information, contact:

Councillor Ana Bailão

416-392-7012