Residents can thank American Rescue Plan Act money for the new front doors installed recently at Barrington Public Library. 

Library Director Kris Chin approached the Town Council at its October meeting and requested $18,733 for new doors at the library. Chin told Councilors that the old doors had been failing for a while. 

Council members approved the request and in early November an outside contractor removed the old automatic library doors and replaced them with new manual doors. 

According to information included in the Barrington Town Council packet, Bill Lizotte Architectural Glass and Aluminum Inc., which is based in East Providence, submitted a price quote of $18,733 for the door replacement project. The quote included the new doors and also the demolition and disposal of the old doors.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, a crew from Bill Lizotte removed the old doors and a day later they installed the new ones. 

Other ARPA

Chin was not the only person to request ARPA money from the Council at its October meeting. 

Ryan Queenan, the executive director of the Bayside Family YMCA, requested $300,000 to help renovate the YMCA’s outdoor swimming pool. 

Queenan told Council members that the Bayside YMCA is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, when workers were furloughed and membership dropped. He said renovating the YMCA’s outdoor pool would help bring members back and have other benefits as well. YMCA officials have envisioned creating an outdoor pool membership plan exclusively for Barrington residents. 

Council members liked the idea of helping the local non-profit organization, but wanted to gather more information before committing to anything. 

The town has also dedicated a large portion of ARPA funding to the Haines Park field renovation project.