A new water research center is one vote away from becoming a reality at the Blasco Memorial Library, which includes an aquaponics lab.
Erie County Council will vote on a resolution to approve a 25-year lease agreement between the county and Gannon University. The agreement will greenlight the development of a water research and education center ― to include a fishery and aquaponics lab, a butterfly conservatory, and a science classroom ― on the eastern wing of the library’s first floor.
Gannon University will pay $22,956 annually to lease the space and is prohibited from breaking the lease within the first 10 years, as per the lease agreement. The resolution to approve the agreement was not listed on the public agenda of the council’s finance committee meeting. Councilmember Ellen Schauerman, who heads the committee, brought forth the resolution as a last-minute addition to the agenda. Finance committee meetings don’t include public comment periods.
Since the measure is a resolution, it doesn’t require a second reading and can be approved by a single majority vote of council at Tuesday’s regular meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in Room 117 of the Erie County Courthouse. The public will be allowed to comment on the resolution Tuesday. It will be the only opportunity for the public to voice their thoughts about the project, which will take up more than 3,000 square feet of space at Blasco Library, a public library designated by the state as a district library center.
Read the entire article at GoErie