When last we weighed in on the great debate regarding a new home for the Colchester East Hants Regional Library, Truro Mayor Bill Mills was a frustrated guy.
That was in February and Mills had wanted town council, at long last, to make its recommendation. More specifically, the mayor wanted to see council endorse historic Normal College in downtown Truro as the future home for the library, a decision we don't disagree with.
After all, the $3.5 million renovation job proposed by Stewiacke developer Leo Rovers seems like a prudent use of taxpayers' money and maximizing usage of the woefully underutilized 134-year-old college that has to be maintained regardless of occupancy also makes fiscal sense.
But others on council, including deputy mayor Charles Cox, weren't quite ready to follow the mayor's timeline. They wanted to revisit all the options one more time because a pretty good argument can be made that the redevelopment of Truro's old hat factory/bowling alley by Fairwyn Developments Limited on behalf of The Snook Group would make for a perfect library.
Maybe building a brand new one on the site of the old Truro junior high school makes the most sense?
Whatever the case, selection of the library site is a multi-million decision and one that shouldn't be made lightly or hastily.
Now fast forward three months and it was good to hear this week that a request for proposals on where to house the new library will be sent out next month.
Proposals should be received by the town in the summer and with any luck a decision will finally be made by September. At least that's the goal, according to Mills, who also warned "there are icebergs on the horizon if we don't make a decision."
We welcome this new timeline and we look forward to comparing the final details of whatever library proposals are forthcoming.
After a debate that has lasted at least 10 years, a glimmer of light can finally be seen at the end of tunnel.
