LAKE STEVENS — The Lake Stevens Library reopened Friday, two days after it was closed by flooding.
“I think it was just the massive rain we had,” city administrator Jan Berg said. “It just came in from the parking lot.”
The library, located at 1804 Main St., has been closed by flooding in the past, but not so late in the year.
Carpet and baseboards were soaked but no computers, books or other materials in the collection were damaged, said Mary Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Sno-Isle Regional Library system.
Heaters were used to dry out the library and prevent mold from causing damage.
“This is something that had happened before at the Lake Stevens Library,” Kelly said. “It is not an uncommon occurrence.”
The library has been on the site near the lake since 1985. The building is a former pharmacy.
But the days of a flooded library could be nearing their end.
The city recently bought nearly 22 acres in the northeastern part of the city for about $3.3 million. The purchase is part of the city’s plan to build a civic campus with a new City Hall on Grade Road just north of downtown.
Those plans include a library, a fire district headquarters, a fire station, shops, homes and open space.
There is no timeline for a ballot measure to build the library, Kelly said.
In the short term, there’s a backlog of materials ordered by patrons that arrived at the library when it was closed Wednesday and Thursday.
“The shelves were just bursting today,” Kelly said Friday. “I hope people get in to pick up their holds.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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