DERBY - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, and state Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia, - both of whom represent Derby or a portion of Derby in the legislature – are welcoming a recent decision by the State Bond Commission to pay half the cost of needed repairs to the Derby Public Library.
The State Bond Commission voted on Sept. 30, 2016 to approve $100,000 to repair water damage and make exterior pathway improvements at the Derby Library; the total estimated cost for the two projects is $200,000.
Funding for the Derby Library renovations was included in the 2007 state bonding bill, which was approved on a bipartisan and nearly unanimous vote of 162-1 in the House and Senate.
“The Derby Library is over 110 years old, and I think it took about 90 years to even update it,” Crisco said, referring to the library’s 7,200 square-foot addition in 1990 that essentially doubled the size of the building that is on the National Historic Register.
“Now the state is chipping in on the cost of repairing this building, which continues the tradition of public-private investment that began in 1902 when Mr. and Mrs. Wood donated the land, the building, and $5,000 for library books on the condition that Derby match those funds and maintain the library. I am proud to say that a century later, the State of Connecticut is helping Derby and its residents to keep that promise, and to protect and preserve this gorgeous and valuable community resource.”
“Despite the advancement of technology, libraries continue to serve a vital service to the community,” Gentile said. “These funds will help to safeguard their future. Repairing and preserving the Derby Public Library is long overdue.”
This is a press release from Crisco's office.
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