NATCHEZ — The George W. Armstrong Library is awaiting the $18,000 promised by the city to complete the final repairs to the library’s heating and cooling system.

Director Susan Cassagne said the money is the city’s half of the $36,000 needed to complete the repairs that began in the fall to the city-owned library. The repair costs total approximately $206,600.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen and Adams County Board of Supervisors voted last August to each contribute $18,000 to complete final repairs that were not covered by the grant for the project.

Cassagne said she has received the county’s money but cannot issue a change order for the final repair work until she receives the city’s money.

The first phase of work was funded by a $162,700 grant designated for energy efficient capital improvements from the Mississippi Development Authority’s Community Block Development Grant Program. The grant is administered through the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District.

The initial work involved replacing all 27 of the broken pneumatic thermostats, the boiler and the air handler motor, as well as repairing ductwork and piping and installing new wiring.

The final work on the heating and cooling system, Cassagne said, will entail replacing damaged chiller parts, one compressor and four fan motors.

Cassagne said the library contributed more than $9,000 for additional aspects of the project not covered by the grant, for asbestos abatement, plumbing repairs and chiller repairs to keep the air conditioning operational until repairs could be completed.

Cassagne said she hopes she receives the money in time for the heating and cooling system repairs to be completed by the start of National Library Week on April 8. She said she would like to have a celebration at the library during the library week so local officials and residents can see the completed work.

The repairs to the library’s heating and cooling system are part of a wide scope of repairs that have been done at the library over the past few years, and more repairs are planned for this year.

Two dormers on the library’s roof were peeled back when Hurricane Gustav hit in 2008, causing water to pour into the library.

The roof was repaired, Cassagne said, six months after the hurricane, and carpeting was replaced in 2010. Insurance covered the cost of repairs totaling $70,028, including $24,967 for the carpet.

Cassagne said the library also paid for a portion of the carpet work after a miscalculation of what would be covered by insurance. The extra expense cost the library approximately $7,000 and involved moving all wood shelving, desks, furniture and the entire collection of books, audio and video tapes so the carpet work could be done.

The Friends of the Library, Cassagne said, has committed to raising the funds necessary for work on the exterior of the library that includes repairing and replacing shutters and painting. Cassagne said she estimates the work will cost approximately $22,000-$28,000, based on an estimate of approximately $18,000 that was done in 2007.

Cassagne said she hopes the exterior work is finished by October when the library will host the Mississippi Library Association’s annual conference. The conference, Cassagne said, typically brings the approximately 500 members of the association to Natchez for two to four days.

Cassagne said she has had to repeatedly ask for funding from the Natchez Board of Aldermen for the library. She said she realizes that the city has financial problems and is responsible for the upkeep of numerous buildings.

“But the library is one of the benefits of the city to everyone from the elderly…to schoolchildren who don’t have computers at home,” she said. “We serve people of all walks of life, especially during these tough economic times.”