The trustees and staff of the Jeudevine Memorial Library were delighted to learn they were successful in their application for $100,000 of grant funding under the Accessibility Modification category of the Vermont Community Development Program (VCDP). The VCDP is administered by the State of Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, with funding supplied by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

With the receipt of this large award and the award from the Vermont Arts Council (see photo), a full eighteen months of fundraising efforts, and the remarkable bequests received in 2018, the goal of raising $1.14 million dollars in non-taxpayer dollars has just about been reached. The remainder of the funding for the expansion, the last $550,000, is being requested from the taxpayers in a municipal bond vote on August 11 of this year.

While the state of the economy remains an uncertain factor, the trustees believe we will receive the best pricing on the project by going out to bid in the autumn, when most contractors are putting together their work for the next calendar year. This is the key reason to hold the bond vote together with the state primary. The more bids received, the more likely we will get competitive pricing.

Further, interest rates are low and expected to remain so, and the actual payment of the bond will not commence until 2022, as the money raised to date will be spent ahead of taxpayer dollars. Thus the bond funds would not be spent until late in 2021, when the project nears completion.

The project itself is a large one that will provide an economic boost and hopefully offer work to local residents. It is the intent of the library to keep the project as close to home as possible, with the hope of sourcing local materials and keeping the dollars in the area. This is our own library and we want it to be useful to the town on every level.