FORTVILLE — A few repair requests from the Carnegie library’s new owners were approved during the Fortville Redevelopment Commission (RDC) meeting Wednesday evening.
The two new owners, Julie Bandy and Vasilis Makris, purchased what once was a library and community building from a local church this past summer and said at the meeting they are wanting to create a business called “Carnegie on Main.”
Bandy said as the new owners, their vision is to preserve the original structure of the building and have the desire to enrich the lives of those in the community and surrounding communities.
Sharing a little bit of history, Bandy said at the meeting that Andrew Carnegie, American industrialist and philanthropist, thought anyone could be successful with access to books and culture if they desired. The Fortville library was one of the last Carnegie libraries to open in Indiana.
“Our mission for Carnegie on Main is to turn it into a cultural and arts events center,” said Bandy at the meeting on Dec. 27. “We will host receptions, corporate events, business meetings, but will celebrate history and culture through the arts monthly.”
Bandy said they plan to celebrate culture in the future by having events such as exhibits, performances, classes, gatherings and podcasts.
With all that being said, Bandy shared with the RDC members that they are at the start of their improvements for the building, and requested aid for the cost of three major improvements. Those improvements included removal of asbestos, façade repair and roof replacement.
When originally purchasing the old library, Makris said they were unaware of being able to come to the RDC for help. He also shared that they have already entered a contract and have had the asbestos and old heating system in the building removed, and would just ask for assistance in paying the remaining balance of the $4,900 job.
Makris said the façade has also reached a sad state and needs a repair, but they had some difficulty getting quotes for the repairs, with the lowest being almost $6,000.
That project has not been started yet, but they believe it’s important to proceed with this part of the restoration because of the shape the facade is currently in. Being exposed to weather and allowed to deteriorate further, Makris said, will only make it more expensive.
Makris also said they would like to replace the asphalt shingle roof despite having found no leaks.
“We’d like to address this problem appropriately prior to it becoming a bigger problem where decking and other things may have to be replaced,” Markis said.
The material they researched to replace the roof would be metal and look similar to slate.
“We would like to thank the town for their interest in helping with this very worthy and historic project,” Makris said at the meeting.
Starting back in 2022, the façade improvement program was created by the RDC with an initiative available for façade improvements to properties in commercially zoned areas with property owners providing a 50% match and maintaining ownership for at least seven years. This year, funds started at $75,000 with $40,000 pledged elsewhere, leaving $35,000 to remain.
Hart Summeier, a member of the RDC, pointed out that the request for the asbestos may not fall under the façade program, since the program aid technically deals with exterior only.
For all three requests, the RDC motioned to aid $22,881, pending compliance with the ordinance. If the asbestos cannot be funded by the RDC, then it motioned to fund the two requests with a total of $20,431. The motion passed 4-0.
