Gainesboro Addressing Library Drainage

The Charles Ralph Holland Memorial Library is getting help from Gainesboro to handle some drainage issues.

Public Works Supervisor Johnny Pigg said water is running off the roadway and collecting around the back of the library. Pigg said heavy rains have the chance to seep into the building and damage the interior.

“We’re just in the planning stages right now,” Pigg said. “We’re just trying to get a game plan together to figure out how to divert the water to where it won’t go in the building and then to where it won’t cause water runoff to go on anybody else.”

Pigg said the exact timeline for the work depends on the weather but he hopes to have it all done by next spring. Pigg said the issue arose due to the natural degradation of the area over time.

“I think we could possibly either add a tile or a drainage ditch,” Pigg said. “Or possibly we might could have (an) asphalt berm made to where it would channel the water in a different direction.”

Library Director Melissa Dawes said the library used to have more severe flooding issues that were addressed in the past. Dawes said the drainage problem has not caused any damage to the library but she is concerned that the standing water could harm its foundation.

“It’s basically pretty minor,” Dawes said. “There’s a couple of areas where the water just needs to be diverted into another path other than into our building.”