Lafourche council to decide on Lockport library – renovate or opt out of ‘froo lulus’

“We don’t need all the froo lulus,” said Lafourche Parish Library Board Vice President Lynette Fossum.

Fossum made the remark at the Sept. 25 Lafourche Parish Council meeting in regards to the staggering price tag of the proposed new library in Lockport.

She, like others in the Lafourche government, do not believe the new library needs to cost $200 per square foot, the cost estimated by the architect, Jay Caillouet.

The Lafourche Parish Council apportioned $1.9 million for the library in Lockport to replace the older 10,000-square-foot structure the parish library currently rents.

“My only concern was building a 9,000-square-foot building, similar to Larose with the money that was budgeted,” said Caillouet.

At $200 per square foot, a new library of the same size would cost $20 million and this figure would not include things like furniture.

While this figure drastically limits the size of the proposed new library, the estimate falls in line with the $192 per square foot cost of the Larose library.

“The Larose library is a metal frame building with a brick veneer and a metal roof. That’s basically what we were going to do in Lockport,” said Caillouet. “But, that (estimate) includes site work now. That’s paving and everything. So, that’s a good estimate to base the estimated cost on.”

In fact, the new library would be about 6,500 feet.

“There are no ‘froo lulus’ in the Larose library. The Larose library is a very, very conservative design,” said Caillouet. “Vinyl composition tile flooring, rubber base, and acoustical ceiling tiles with a brick veneer.”

Because of this and the fact the lot for the new library seems to be on the wrong side of the highway, public support has been leaning toward renovating the current, older library.

This revelation came about at a recent public meeting held by the Library Board to discuss the issue.

Lafourche Parish Library Administrator Paul Chiquet said it looked to him as if the community wanted to renovate the existing library, but local government officials want to look at other options.

“Not the councilmen, not the board and not the public is listening to the whole issue,” said Chiquet.

The parish council will look at the issue again at its next meeting. It will have to decide whether to purchase and renovate the existing library or go forward with a new, cheaper one.

Caillouet believes the old building could be renovated within the available funds for construction in a way similar to the Galliano library, which is housed in a renovated Wal-Mart building.