Yesterday afternoon, Tuesday Aug. 20, Mayor Bruce Harrell, Chief Librarian Tom Fay, and leaders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gathered at the University Branch to announce a groundbreaking FEMA grant that will bring air conditioning to the last five Library branches without it.
The grant is part of Seattle’s climate adaption efforts, expanding on the 21 branches that already have air-conditioning and will play an integral role in providing cooling and clean-air shelters for Seattle residents to get indoors during extreme heat and wildfire smoke events. According to FEMA, it’s the first cooling center award received in Washington state and the largest award Seattle has received under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
The historic, Carnegie-era University Branch, which opened in 1910, will be the first of the five branches to install AC as part of an already planned seismic retrofit that will start next year. The other four branches to have AC funded by the FEMA grant are the Columbia, Fremont, Queen Anne and West Seattle branches.
Chief Librarian Tom Fay said “thanks to FEMA’s important and generous funding, all Seattle libraries will be able to serve as reliable cooling shelters and clean air centers once this work is complete.”
The upgrade project is estimated at $5.8 million; FEMA will contribute 90% of the funds, with Washington State and the City of Seattle contributing the remainder. In addition to the project costs, FEMA will fund up to $300,000 towards grant administration.
The work will include removal of existing HVAC and heat transfer systems, installation of new cooling systems, integration with existing control systems, and upgrading breakers and other equipment.
You can learn more about the grant on Mayor Bruce Harrell’s blog, and on the Seattle Channel’s story.
– Elisa M., Communications
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