Editorial: Library Board selects O’Neal Construction

At its Feb. 14 meeting, the Belleville Area District Library Board unanimously selected O’Neal Construction, Inc. of Ann Arbor as its choice for construction manager for the new library that was approved by voters in November.
The board also approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of $14 million in tax-exempt bonds and to have its building committee and attorney John Day negotiate the final contract with O’Neal.
Building Committee member John Juriga said at Friday’s Mayors’ Ball at the BYC (that earned thousands of dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Belleville and Romulus) he met up with an aide to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. They met in the rest room because the music was so loud they couldn’t hear each other.
Juriga said he asked for help with getting DTE to bury the electric lines that would hang in front of the new library. The aide said he would contact Dearborn, Washington, D.C. and DTE to see what he could do.
The survey of the site shows the electric lines actually would clip the new library’s corner for a foot or two, so the buildings location would have to be shifted. Also, the survey shows there is no recorded easement for the electric lines.
There are lots of challenges to building on a city site, but that’s what the voters wanted and the library board will work through the details, step by step. Be assured: The new library is on its way.