Fraser city officials tonight are expected to approve selling the E.C. Weber Fraser Public Library to the library board of directors.

The City Council has a real estate purchase agreement on the agenda that calls for the library’s board of directors to buy the facility and its contents for a token $1.

But residents shouldn’t get their reading lists ready just yet.

The library on 14 Mile Road west of Utica Road has been closed since the spring of 2023 when a motorist accidentally crashed through a rear wall. While repairing the damage, inspectors also uncovered other building issues that prevents it from being occupied by the public.“We are purchasing the library, which requires extensive repairs to make it usable again,” said Marlene Hoeft, president of the library board.

The board approved its end of the agreement last week during a special meeting. But because the 6,200-square-foot building needs $3.7 million in repairs, officials must work out a bond issue to pay for the repairs, which are expected to take up to two years to complete.

In addition to the large hole in the wall, cement dust was widespread in the library after the crash. Everything needed to be taken out of the building and cleaned, officials said.

The building’s insurance company will not cover the library until repairs are made and a certificate of occupancy is approved.

“People like the old building where our library was at, but it’s not up to code and needs a lot of repairs,” said Lorena McDowell, the library director. “Our computer hard drives were destroyed. The circulation area was destroyed. There’s nowhere for our people to work. We had huge chunks of concrete embedded in there. It was a mess.”

A recent building assessment report compiled by Farmington-based MCD Architects notes a host of issues with the existing building, including:

• HVAC and plumbing problems

• The elevator is inoperable and needs to be replaced

• Most of the electrical and lighting systems require upgrades

• Toilet facilities don’t meet ADA standards and need replacement

Even before the crash, residents were voicing concerns over a faulty sewage system, leaks in the roof of the structure and other issues with the aging building.

The library was established in 1964 when residents voted to have 1 mill fund and create an independent library board, according to the library’s website.

Officials decided to convert the then-80-year-old St. John School building, which had been constructed in 1884 and had been vacant for 10 years. Voters in 1976 approved a new library building addition and opened the new section in 1979.

In 2022, voters approved a two-mill property tax for the library’s needs.

Hoeft, a retired teacher and librarian who earned a bachelor’s degree in library information science from Wayne State, said about $750,000 from the fund will go toward the repair effort. She said as part of the project, officials are thinking of building out the second floor, she said.

Library officials considered moving to another location with more parking than the 14 Mile site, but decided to purchase the current building and refurbish it. The estimated cost of a new 10,300-square-foot library would be about $7.7 million, according to the inspection report.

For now, the library has been relocated to a strip mall at 15260 15 Mile at Hayes roads.

Tonight’s City Council meeting begins at 7 at City Hall, located on Garfield Road at 14 Mile.