The Marion County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary location Tuesday for the Columbia-Marion County Public Library as tornado repairs continue.
The former Rankin building on Main Street, which had previously housed Jan Marie’s Upscale Flea Market, is being provided to the library free of rent for four months by building owner Mickey Webb.
Webb said the county has been good to him and he wanted to give something back.
“God had a hand in it with the timing," he said.
Jan Marie’s closed in January, and Webb said he and Jan Marie’s owner, Janet Breakfield, talked and Breakfield told Webb she would have all of her things out of the building by Feb. 1 so the library could immediately start using it.
The library's normal home on Broad Street has been closed since an EF-2 tornado on Dec. 16 damaged the roof, leading to water damage by the heavy rains that followed that night.
Ryda Worthy, director of the South Mississippi Regional Library, which oversees the libraries in Marion and Jeff Davis counties, said now they need to begin mapping out what to take to the 11,000-square-foot space downtown. She said even though there is a lot of space in the building that not all of the materials will be in the temporary location so the facility can be handicapped accessible.
“Both the county and city have supported the library. We are pleased to tell the public, and we very much appreciate Janet Breakfield and Mickey Webb,” Worthy said.
Worthy said they are hoping to have the temporary location open within three weeks. She said the biggest issue isn’t the physical moving but rather the internet. However, she did say they could start moving items into the temporary location this week. Eddie Ray Breakfield, the county's insurance agent, said there was some insurance money to help with the moving, according to Worthy.
“There are so many things we are allowed to do and not do according to federal regulations that setting the internet up correctly will be the hardest part,” she said.
She also said even though it will be scaled back some, there will still be some computers in the temporary location and for the time being the Wi-Fi is still available in the parking lot at the main building at the corner of Broad Street and Park Avenue.
Drew Foxworth, attorney for the Board of Supervisors, asked if there was something insurance and/or liability wise which would need to be done. Breakfield said as long as the building is listed as additional insured on the current policy that should take care of it.
Board President Tony Morgan said supervisors had tried to think of a temporary location on county property but didn't have a building that was already set up with electricity and water.
At the meeting Tuesday, bids were opened for the new roof with R & R Sheetmetal Inc. winning the bid. The company's bid was the lowest of three bids with a base amount of $91,750. The contract is for 60 days, so the work should be completed by the end of April.
The Storytime on the Road program the library is currently having at Second Street Bean will continue to be held at Second Street Bean throughout February. Tuesday morning the program had 12 children and eight adults in attendance.
