After many months of planning, the Gloucester Point Library Branch will hold its grand opening Saturday morning beginning at 10 o’clock at its new location in the York River Crossing Shopping Center, Hayes.
Library director Diane Rebertus was on hand at a Gloucester Point town hall meeting hosted by county supervisor Bobby Crewe on Tuesday night at Abingdon Elementary School to explain some of the new features the library branch will have to offer.
"If you haven’t been down there, it is nice," Rebertus told the audience. The 3,900 square foot branch includes a dedicated computer room, and Rebertus said she hopes the branch will be able to offer computer lab classes through that space in the near future.
There is also a dedicated children’s room and a dedicated teens and tweens room. "They need their own space," she said.
In addition to those spaces, Rebertus said there are reading and studying areas to provide a quiet space for those activities.
One of the aspects of the new branch Rebertus said she is most excited about is the meeting room. "Other than the schools, there is no meeting space for community use," she said.
Though the space can only hold a little more than 20 people, Rebertus said there is a separate entrance into the area that can be sectioned off from the rest of the library for after hours use.
Another nice feature, she said is the location of the new branch. "At the intersection of Route 17 and Guinea Road, there is easy access and ample parking, and that’s really nice."
Finally, she said the library is bright and open with wonderful lighting.
"The board of supervisors has been instrumental in this," Rebertus added. She said the lease was approved in March to move forward with the branch. "Since then, everything has gone so fast," she said. "It snowballed … there’s been a lot to do."
She said various county departments have also made the move possible as well as Friends of the Library, which donated $40,000 to the effort so far.
Others that have been instrumental, she said, include the Point Branch Relocation Fundraising Committee and library staff that has been working diligently to move into the new space while continuing to keep up with regular duties.
New hours at the branch are Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon -8 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. "We will still be open the same amount of hours," Rebertus said. "But we wanted to stay open later on Saturdays so people who were out and about could come in and use the facility."
When asked by a member of the public, Rebertus said the branch is operating out of a 10-year lease, with the option for renewal. The current rent, she said is $51,887 for the first 12 months, which equates to $4,323 a month. She reminded the public that this branch is double the space from the previous space.
The first Gloucester Point Library branch opened in 1985 in Tidemill Center, Hayes. In 1992, it moved to its former 2,000 square foot location just across from the Pizza Hut at Gloucester Point.
Grand opening
Saturday’s grand opening will feature tours of the new branch, giveaways, entertainment and refreshments, Rebertus said.
Strings ‘N’ Things will provide musical entertainment, while the Abingdon Woman’s Club will provide refreshments.
The ladies of Curves will do a demonstration at 11 o’clock, while the Hayes Black Belt Academy will host a demonstration at noon.
Different children’s activities will be available throughout the morning.
Rebertus said she anticipates the grand opening celebration to last until 1 p.m. and then the library will open for regular business until 5 p.m. No regular business will be conducted during the grand opening on Saturday morning, she said.
Other matters
In other news, Crewe updated the public on matters such as the assessment. "The new assessor is working on policies and procedures and has a report going to the board of supervisors Tuesday night," Crewe said.
"This guy seems to be headed in the right direction. We’ll see."
He also said the board of supervisors will host a public hearing Tuesday on the proposed Gloucester Point/Hayes Development Area. "I’m looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this," Crewe said. "It’s come a long way to what it was when we first started, and we’ve got it pretty close."
He also reminded the public that another Clean Gloucester Day is scheduled for Oct. 22. "It’s similar to what we did in March, where we had an astronomical number of groups," he said. "We don’t have as many groups this time, and I’m not sure why." However, volunteers will stage at the main branch of the Gloucester Library and another group at Guinea Road.
Finally, Kevin Wilson, Gloucester’s Commissioner of the Revenue, said that his office is still taking applications on damage assessments from the recent tornado and hurricane.