The Lake Elmo Public Library will be closed for an extra week over the holidays because of the discovery of lead in some of the walls.
The city’s Library Board voted to spend $4,500 to get rid of the lead found in walls in the library’s older and unused bathrooms. Elsewhere in the 3537 N. Lake Elmo Ave. building, three new bathrooms were added this year and are not affected by the lead-removal project.
The closure Dec. 24-31 will be in addition to a previously planned closure Jan. 1-13. Washington County is taking control of the city library on New Year’s Day and is closing the library for two weeks for remodeling.
Once the lead is taken care of, the old bathrooms will be used for storage, according to county Library Director Keith Ryskoski.
Lake Elmo Administrator Kristina Handt said the county will reimburse the city for the cost of the lead-abatement project.