The Delaware County District Library Board of Trustees approved the recommendations of the board Evaluation Committee to enter into agreement with Thomas & Marker Construction as the construction manager at risk (CMR) for the purposes of building a library branch in Powell/Liberty Township.
Thomas & Marker has offices in Columbus and Marysville. The company’s portfolio includes 250 civic projects and 100 municipalities served. In its proposal, Thomas & Marker touted its local connection to the Delaware County community – citing the completion of 57 projects within a 10-mile radius in the past six years.
Projects of note include Zoombezi Bay at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Marysville Bunsold Middle School, Mad River Mountain Ski Resort in Zanesfield, the City of Powell solar picnic pavilion, and the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University. Library renovations or additions include Ohio Northern University College of Law, Central State University, and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Institute of Technology.
CMR requests for qualifications were due to the library by July 1, and requests for proposals were received in October. Interviews were conducted in November. Thomas & Marker was chosen from four firms who returned their requests for qualifications.
In early December, the library began design conceptualization with a series of community meetings. From those meetings came input regarding building construction and design, taste preferences of the community and considerations of building accessibility and sustainability.
The Liberty Township Library Building Committee consists of library trustees Neil Neidhardt, Holly Quaine, and Vice President Michael Butler. Other trustees in attendance at the meeting included President Brenda Eldridge, Secretary Ceena Baker, Kevin Daberkow and Nick McCoy.
During the meeting, the trustees also entertained a motion to accept the slate of officers for the Library Board of Trustees with terms commencing Jan. 21, 2020. The approved slate included President Michael Butler, Vice President Holly Quaine, and Secretary Ceena Baker.
New business included a number of motions for 2020 budget appropriations and the approval of a closure on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, for the purposes of an all-staff training day.
