Supporters worry plans for new Winnipeg library branch could mean end of West Kildonan location
May 2024 report stated roof of West Kildonan library needed replacing within 18 months
A city plan to lease space for a new library in northwest Winnipeg has some library supporters worried the plan could spell doom for another beloved branch.
The city wants to lease space in Garden City Shopping Centre for a new northwest library.
On Thursday, the property and development committee voted in favour of the plan, which needs final approval from council.
In 2022, the city considered closing the West Kildonan Library branch on Jefferson Avenue and moving that branch to a space in the mall, but abandoned that plan after community pushback.
The Jefferson Avenue building needs major renovations, but there are no plans for any work on it, a city spokesperson told CBC News in an email.
"Along with many others, we are concerned that the new branch will be used as an excuse to close the West Kildonan branch," Harriet Zaidman of the Friends of the West Kildonan Library told the property committee on Thursday.
"Barring any action on the building, we think this concern is warranted."
The city began considering relocating the West Kildonan branch in 2012.
In 2022, city property managers concluded it would be cheaper for the city to renovate the Garden City space and pay rent than to buy land and build a new library space.
The West Kildonan branch building was built in 1967. A report in May 2024 outlined options for renovations, with costs ranging from $6.3 million to more than $10.7 million.
The roof needed replacing within 18 months, that report said, but council did not set aside funding for the work.
"The building has been declared a heritage building," said Zaidman. "It's a very viable building and it's used by the community quite, quite a lot, and it needs a new roof. So when will it be done?"
Under the cheapest option presented to councillors last year, the city could spend $6.3 million to fix up the West Kildonan library just enough to maintain existing programs and services.
A second option, which would cost $7.5 million, would have allowed more programs and services to be added at West Kildonan Library, and would have allowed for a larger elevator, a new tutorial room and a children's reading playground.
A third option was building a library addition at a cost of $10.7 million.
Property committee chair Coun. Evan Duncan says there are no plans to close any library branches, but neither are there plans for major repairs at the West Kildonan branch.
"That doesn't mean that in future years that can't change and that we can't look at making changes to improve the services, whether it be programs or just the infrastructure there," the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood councillor told reporters.
If the plan for the new northwest branch is approved, the city plans to spend more than $2 million to renovate the nearly 14,500-square-foot Garden City space. Annual rent would range from just over $210,000 to nearly $232,000 over 15 years, with operating costs estimated around $205,000 per year.
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