By MOLLY DRYMAN

Staff Reporter

GARYVILLE – The Frazee-Harris branch of the new St. John Parish library in Garyville, is on schedule and should be completed in July.

The library will be a 5,500-sq. ft. steel structure, located at the end of the historic Main Street, facing the Timbermill Museum. The existing, rented 1,600-sq. ft. library, next to the post office, will close.

“We are right on schedule,” said Randy DeSoto, executive director of St. John Parish Library System. “The roof is being installed now, along with the windows. I think they’re supposed to start on the siding this week.”

The cost of the library is around $835,000. St. John Parish will cover $800,000 from bond money, while the remaining $35,000 is covered by the library’s budget.

At the March 22 council meeting, issues regarding a change order were raised concerning how much money would be used for specific parts of the construction. DeSoto said these issues were for “general changes in order to find better products for termite control, add a better drainage system and buy additional screws and siding.”

Councilman Allen St. Pierre said the change order should not make the price of construction go up, it was just to correct some minor problems and he is satisfied with how things are going.

“Everything’s going good,” said St. Pierre. “Everything will be very well constructed with a steel roof and steel structure. It’s looking terrific. It will be very strong and able to stand a lot of wind.”

St. Pierre has supported this project for years and after some difficulty finding a site, it is finally “coming to life,” he said.

“I worked real hard on this project,” said St. Pierre. “Garyville’s on the rise.”