Former Church to be Converted into Town Library
In South Berwick, Maine, town officials are planning to convert a church into the new home for the library. The former St. Michael’s Church will soon be transformed into a town library. The town purchased the church last year for the sum of $875,000.
The current library in South Berwick is housed in a 1,500 foot space in the Jewett-Eastman Memorial building and is considered cramped and too small. It comfortably seats only about a dozen people, and is not handicap accessible.
The proposed library in St. Michael’s has another set of problems. A preliminary study of the church found it would cost between $1.3 and $2.1 million to convert the space. The building is plagued with water infiltration issues in the basement, and in addition, the church is also not handicap accessible.
Most troubling of all, asbestos is present in the siding of the building. Asbestos poses serious health risks, as asbestos exposure is linked to respiratory conditions like lung cancer and mesothelioma.
The Friends of the South Berwick Library will host an open house at the church on Thursday, July 16th. The event will feature "imagination stations," where people can share their suggestions for the creation of the future library and participate in the design process. After ideas are collected at the open house, the town will contract an architectural firm to develop a design.
Under environmental law, asbestos abatement must be conducted safely and legally before any renovations or demolition can occur. A licensed asbestos abatement technician must conduct the work and signage that warns residents of potential airborne asbestos must be placed around any work site. It is not unusual for asbestos abatement technicians to conduct air quality monitoring before, during and after removal of the toxic substance to ensure that workers and nearby residents are not exposed.
Following exposure, mesothelioma cancer and other diseases typically will not manifest for several years, and mesothelioma symptoms include shortness of breath, chronic cough, chest pain, and the presence of fluid within the lungs.
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