Following some weather and materials-related delays earlier thisyear, completion on the Lincoln County Public Library’s expansionis targeted for March, Director Henry Ledet told supervisorsMonday.

Ledet said spring rain and difficulties in getting needed steelslowed construction on the approximately $1 million, 5,000-squarefoot expansion.

“That really delayed our project,” Ledet said.

Ledet said construction crews are doing a good job, and theproject is taking shape. He showed supervisors an architecturaldrawing of the finished project.

Following completion, Ledet said patron-oriented services willbe located downstairs while library offices and related areas willbe upstairs.

A new children’s area, meeting room and handicap-accessiblerestrooms will be located in expanded area. Ledet said the meetingroom would be able to accommodate most gatherings.

“The space is about the same as the other one, but the way it’slaid out makes it look and feel a lot bigger,” Ledet said.

Officials have received a $50,000 grant to help furnish thelibrary and fund-raising efforts to provide the matching amount areprogressing, Ledet said. He added the library’s public computersremain popular, and he hoped officials could add more with part ofthe grant money.

Ledet said the only time the library has had to close is forabout two weeks for some asbestos work. He anticipated no furtherclosings and complimented Paul Jackson and Son on their cooperationduring the project.

“They have really bent over backward to make it easy for us touse the library while they’ve been working,” Ledet said.

Originally scheduled for completion in December, Ledet said theproject is now slated for completion in March. He said libraryofficials hoped to celebrate the completed project with activitiesduring National Library Week in April.

In other business during Monday’s meeting, supervisors rejecteda request from District 2 Supervisor Bobby J. Watts to exempt a98-year-old woman from paying the county garbage collection fee.The request touched off a brief discussion about some people’sability to pay the $9 a month fee.

“We’re fixing to come across a lot of this…,” said District 3Supervisor Nolan Earl Williamson, who mentioned changes in Medicaidpayment plans affecting elderly patients. “It’s a sadsituation.”

Earlier, supervisors had considered exempting anyone over 80from the garbage fees, but ultimately did not pursue the change.District 1 Supervisor Cliff Givens said some residents over 80 arein a better position to pay the fees than some youngerresidents.

Regarding the request, the board’s feeling was that granting theexemption would open a “can of worms” and if they exempted one,they would have to exempt others in similar situations.

Also Monday, supervisors discussed using the speculativebuilding for storage of county equipment. The building so far hasbeen unable to be sold because of some perceived undergroundcontamination at the edge of the building site.

“It’s a good place to keep stuff out of the weather,” saidDistrict 4 Supervisor W.D. “Doug” Moak.