Essex County Council will look repair the ground level of the Civic Centre following a flood last month.
County Council met on Wednesday evening, with Essex mayor Sherry Bondy presenting a notice of motion asking that administration prepare a project plan to renovate portions of the basement that were affected by a flood.
Due to the flood in mid-August, approximately 10 Essex County Library members have been relocated to a different area of the Civic Centre. The Civic Centre is the headquarters location for all Essex County Library branches.
Bondy asked to have the report included in the 2026 draft budget to ensure renovations can be done as soon as possible.
Renovations around the Civic Centre have been ongoing for a number of years, with the next renovation project expected to be the main entrance. However, members of County Council voiced their support on Wednesday for having the basement repaired prior to the lobby.
Administration stated that they will move forward with some of the design layouts, work with contractors to get quotes, and continue conversations with the insurance company to ensure a report is presented at budget time.
Bondy says this is where the library headquarters is located.
"It's actually like the brains of the whole organization, it's where all the books get processed, it's where all the shipping, all the packing, all the administrative staff work, and there was a flood. So now we have to see what we can do to repair and restore the place so it's a nice working place for the employees."
She says the flood occurred last month.
"One of the major pipes burst that took water from the roof to the outside of the building. It busted at its elbow joints and water went directly on the floor, wetting all the flooring, the carpeting, the drywall. That was in the middle of August and the staff have been moved to the old media centre."
Bondy says the renovations in the basement are long overdue.
"So it kind of is one of those blessing in disguise where you say, 'okay, you have a catastrophe, how can we make the best of it?'. And it's smart to do the renovation now and not just do a really quick job, get staff back out there, and then come around in a couple more years, relocate staff again, and then do the real renovation."
The cost of this work for the basement renovations would not increase the tax rate in 2026 as it's expected to be drawn from the capital reserve.
According to administration, some elements of the renovations would be covered by insurance, but likely not a large portion of it.
Library team members are expected to be displaced for at least 6 months but it may be closer to 10 months.
If approved by council during budget deliberations in December, construction will likely begin early in the new year.