Board agrees to gift

DUNKIRK — The answer is yes, but with important stipulations.
The Dunkirk Library Board agreed to accept the Dunkirk Industrial Development Corporation’s gift of the former Stewart Brothers Furniture building Monday.
But acceptance is contingent upon the awarding of a Community Focus Fund grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to help cover the cost of transforming the Main Street property into the new library’s home.
That grant application is in process, Jay County Community Developer Ami Huffman said this morning.
No target amount for the application has yet been determined. Deadline for submitting the final version of the application is May 31.
The DIDC first approached the library board about gifting the property in November.
The cost of converting the former furniture store into a home for the library and the Glass Museum has been estimated at $1.4 million, but the final price tag of the project is not known at this point.
Library board members also stipulated that the building’s roof be repaired and the building be cleaned out as the DIDC originally proposed.
The Dunkirk City Council has approved spending up to $100,000 in economic development income tax funds to get the building at 304 S. Main St. into shape.
The library board also asked that Blake Watson, curator of the Glass Museum, be allowed to collect any glassware found in the building during the clean-up.
Monday’s action came on a 6-0 vote by the library board, with board member Rodney Jackson absent.
Board members also approved spending $3,000 for an environmental study of the Stewart Brothers property.


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