Editorial: Public invited to sign steel beams at new library site

On Jan. 15, at the regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, Belleville Area District Library Board President Sharon Peters invited the public to come sign a steel beam on the new library, now under construction in downtown Belleville.
She said they had first thought about having elected officials from the tri-communities of Belleville, Van Buren, and Sumpter do the signing, but then decided it’s the people’s building and everyone should be able to sign it.
She said the ceremonial signings will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, before the 12:30 p.m. annual meeting of the Friends of the Library. Peters said people will have to wear hard hats to step into the construction zone and will have to use a special pen. The steel columns specified are those near the new entrance.
Peters came to the VBT regular meeting to personally thank the board members for their personal donations to the library – exactly $1,007.16 from their pockets. No taxpayer money involved.
She said VBT will be acknowledged on the new library’s donor wall. The donor wall will be prominent in the new library forever. The signing of the beams will be covered up by construction, she said.
Peters said she hopes the donations from VBT officials will inspire other officials to donate to the library, as well. The goal was to raise $400,000 and they’ve got $300,000 so far.