From the Mayor

Recently Council made the decision to close Martinborough’s library building. This decision was not taken lightly and was made after we received an earthquake vulnerability report on the building’s structure which highlighted that it met less than five percent of the current building code.  The move has raised several questions which I will attempt to answer.

Why have we closed the library but not the town hall?  The Town Hall has had some strengthening work done and while more is needed, its percentage of building code is higher.  When people wish to hire the Town Hall they are made aware of its earthquake status and the risks involved.  They can choose whether or not they wish to use it. 

The library however provides a daily service for residents and is occupied much of the time.  Many of our users are identified as elderly or children therefore ‘at risk’.  We are not inferring that these groups are somehow deficient but simply that they are more likely to require assistance in the case of an emergency and probably less able to exit the building in a hurry without that assistance.

Why can the staff go in the building but the public can’t?  The building is not a hazard  in normal circumstances and won’t suddenly fall down.  We are simply lessening the risk by limiting the access.
Didn’t the refurbishment address these matters?  No.  Such things were not even considered when the library was shifted to its current site.  The refurbishment was to make the area workable as a library.

How long will the building be closed?  Council is currently investigating all options including strengthening the current site and other possible locations for the library.  At present we cannot give a definitive time to have the problem fixed.