SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Shrewsbury Town Meeting members overwhelmingly approved the two critical articles on the tonights town meeting agenda, paving the way for the library project to move to the next step.  Article 11 authorizes the town to purchase the Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union Property abutting the current Public Library, for $760,000.   If all proceeds according to plan, this site will be used in the ultimate expansion of the library, which is expected to be just shy of $20 Million when it’s all complete.

Article 12 approved the preliminary design for the library expansion, and the application for a state grant of almost $8 Million, which will be used towards funding the project.  Ultimately, in order to move forward, the town will have to approve an override, or more accurately, a bond issue, of over $9 Million dollars at some future date.  If the bond issue doesn’t pass at that time, then it will be back to square one for this important project, although the town will at least then own the abutting property, which could always be used for an alternate purpose in the interim.