After 12-1/2 days open, new library closes until April 6

A Book Brigade passed the last 100 fiction books from the old Fred C. Fischer Library to the new Belleville Area District Library at noon on Leap Day, Feb. 29, to open the new library in downtown Belleville.
Then, 12 1/2 days later, at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 14, the new library closed until Monday, April 6, in compliance with sudden state rules to contain the spreading corona virus.
On Monday, Library Director Mary Jo Suchy said Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered all the libraries closed, and this includes the Media Center in Sumpter Township. All library programs and room reservations are cancelled until April 6.
Director Suchy said they are working with The Library Network to get due dates extended for books loaned by them. Library patrons may extend their due dates on local loans by clicking on the right-hand corner of the library web site.
The regular meeting of the library board on March 10, was before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out emergency rules to try to stop growth of the coronavirus in the state.
On March 10, board members were still celebrating the completion of the library and its use by the public.
Library Director Suchy said the circular-stair railing installers completed the entry railing at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, and the library received its temporary certificate of occupancy late Friday morning, Feb. 28, from Belleville Building Official Rick Rutherford.
“The rest is history!” she said. “Overall reaction to the new library is very positive.”
“This is one of the happiest Belleville Area District Library board meetings ever,” said chairwoman Sharon Peters at the March 10 meeting in the new building. “We’ve been working so long for this.”
Alma Hughes-Grubbs gave a report from the marketing committee, beginning with the Feb. 21 Mardi Gras party to say goodbye to the Fischer library.
“It was awesome,” she said, noting the brass band was outstanding. The band led a walk to the new library building and back and then participants enjoyed outstanding food from the Bayou Grill.
She said there were more than 300 people there and a video was shown on the history of the library.
Then, the Book Brigade on Feb. 29 was “an awesome success” for the soft grand opening, she said, noting kids were thrilled with the computers and, so were the adults.
“People were excited about the new addition to the community,” Grubbs said.
Board member John Juriga said the grand opening will be July 25. First, they have to demolish the Fischer library, take out five feet of soil, put in the retention pond and bio swale, and then the parking lot.
“This is the happiest I’ve ever seen the community,” Juriga said.
“Go-Pro was on the last book,” vice chairwoman Mary Jane Dawson said of the Book Brigade. She said people could say a message into the camera device as it was passed along.
“Then, everybody got sick,” chairwoman Peters said, noting some were not back to work yet.
Library Director Mary Jo Suchy said ten part-time clerks have been hired, expanding the workforce at the library. She said many of the staff members have suffered from colds and flu during the lead-up and opening of the new building and they were stretched thin while everyone recovers.
Peters said art committee chairwoman Michele Montour will work with the library staff on ideas for a new logo.
Peters said on Feb 6, the art committee toured the new building and looked at spaces for art. The next meeting was planned for 3 p.m., March 26. She said possibly the committee will recommend colorful art, in a calm color, be placed in the quiet reading room.
Director Suchy said the Centennial Quilt has been hung in the History Room and the spot is so perfect, it looked like it was made for it.
Peters said art committee member Doug Peters is refurbishing the oil painting of Fred C. Fischer done in the 1930s and found that the work was done by famous black artist Hughie Lee-Smith.
Board secretary Joy Cichewicz, who chairs the building committee, reported that the old building has asbestos in it and they will have to remove that separately and work with a tent over it. There are also asbestos tiles to remove. She said they planned to start work March 20 and ETC will do the bidding.
Cichewicz said the wood trusses will not be salvaged.
She said they are still working on the punch list and little strips of blue tape mark places that need attention. She said the teen room has an issue with the lights.
Cichewicz reported Director Suchy and Deputy Director Hilary Savage will be trained on the HVAC and “record it for posterity.”
She said there had been some discussion on how to put the address up and it was decided to put 167 in big numbers on the door.
Juriga reported they will be putting three hives of honey bees on the very top roof, which will be taken care of by two people from the Bees in the D organization. Therese Antonelli is donating one hive.
Juriga said he and Jim Wagner, a local beekeeper, went on the roof the previous week and agreed on where the hives should be. They discussed it with the builder.
Cichewicz, who has bee hives at her Sumpter Township home, said the vegetative roof will have plenty of clover for the bees to feast on and they will go three miles to collect pollen.
Juriga said Savage is learning about bees and may take over care of the hives after a year.
“This has ecological importance,” Peters said.
Juriga made a motion, seconded by vice chairwoman Mary Jane Dawson, to set up the bee hives in April, with work done by Bees in the D and one hive being donated by Therese Antonelli of Moving the Mitten. The motion passed unanimously.
Cichewicz said honey bees are just one type of pollinator. She said Africanized bees can’t survive winters. Honey bees are gentle and don’t attack.
“They are hairy, fuzzy, warm, and friendly,” she said, adding they can only sting one time and then they die.
“If you didn’t know we had bees on the roof, we wouldn’t know we had bees on the roof,” Peters said.
Juriga said in the future they may put cameras on the roof so the bees can be observed by the public.
He said in Cuba they use bee stings to cure arthritis.
Peters said the new library has books and also has technology. It was noted there are 11 security cameras at the facility.
In other business at the one-hour-and-three-minute meeting, the board:
• Heard Dawson say, “I love my new library.” She said Library Week is April 19-23 this year and this library will mark 10 years of being a district library on April 17. She said this new library building wouldn’t have happened if they had not become a district library;
• Heard Cichewicz thank the marketing committee for pulling two events together, referring to the Mardi Gras and the Book Brigade, showing the community the library can put on two big events back to back;
• Heard Juriga say, “Belleville finally has a destination.” He said he is donating stuff from the old library to garage sales and other libraries;
• Heard Peters say the board is thankful the community has been behind the library with tax dollars and tremendous private donations. The library hosts the best parties in the community and will make this library a community place. She said Van Buren Township will help with the grand opening in July. Juriga said after the July 25 grand opening at noon, there will be a car show and jazz concert on Main Street and the street will be closed; and
• Heard two Boy Scouts from Troop 271 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Livonia explain they came to the board meeting to work on the Communications Badge leading to their Eagle Scout goals. Their mothers were at the meeting with them.