CALAIS – The king of scare had staff and patrons jumping for joy, not huddling in fear, on Thursday after his foundation presented the Calais Free Library with a check for $100,000.

The funds from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation will be used to repair the foundation of the 108-year-old-building.

Two years ago, the city hired planners to design a waterfront that would attract tourists to the area. The focal point of the design was the library and the proposed $6 million Down East Cultural Heritage Center.

But a portion of the Calais Free Library’s 108-year-old foundation is crumbling, and that could lead to the collapse of one of the walls. Built in Romanesque style, the library resembles a fairy-tale castle.

Overlooking the St. Croix River, the library is on the former site of the home of James Shepherd Pike, who was a friend of President Abraham Lincoln and an associate of editor and politician Horace Greeley. Pike, a prominent abolitionist, served as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands under Lincoln. In his will, he left his homestead property and a sum for the establishment of a library.

The yellow brick building, designed by architect A.H. Vinal, was constructed at a cost of slightly more than $10,000, and it opened to the public on July 4, 1893.

The problems in the building began about 15 years after an addition was made to the rear of the building. The design apparently did not factor in proper drainage, and the soil removal at the rear of the old unit undermined the foundation.

The staff discovered a crack in the brick wall about three years ago and realized there was a problem. An engineering firm was hired to analyze the situation, and Shawmut Design Corp. of Waterville issued a bleak report. They suggested the foundation be repaired as soon as possible.

Last year, the city put the question of repairing the library before voters. In a nonbinding referendum, voters demonstrated their concern not only for the deteriorating library, but also for the city’s sidewalks, and they approved a bond measure that would provide up to $1 million for repairs. Of that amount, $150,000 was to be used to bolster the library foundation. The library staff began to look for the remaining funds elsewhere.

Library trustee Gail Wahl offered to assist, and she applied for a grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. She already had been successful at garnering $25,000 from the Libra Foundation in Portland. Those funds also will be used for foundation work.

When residents are asked what they think of their library, most will tell you it is not only the heart of the city, it also is the heartbeat of local cultural and arts programs. It is also where youngsters get their first insight into the pleasure of reading a good book.

On Thursday night, when librarian Marilyn Sotirelis announced at the City Council meeting that the grant had been awarded, all applauded Wahl’s effort.

“I would like to publicly thank Gail Wahl,” Sotirelis said. “She spent hours and hours, days and weeks on that grant. It was the most beautiful grant I’ve ever seen.

“So we now have $125,000 towards the renovation of the library.”

After the meeting, Sotirelis said that Wahl had focused not only on the economic problems facing the city, but also on the positive things the city is trying to do to restore the bustling economy it had 10 years ago. For the past decade, the city has seen many businesses close. The downtown area is dotted with empty storefronts and vacant buildings.

Wahl, who is not a full-time grant writer, said that it had been the most complex application she had ever written. “I just told about the library,” she said. “It’s a very excellent library … and I documented that fact.”

Sotirelis said the repair project had gone out to bid, and she anticipated that work would begin soon. She said the total cost was expected to be around $224,000.

Both Stephen and Tabitha King are popular authors, and Sotirelis said the library had a good selection of both authors’ books.

When the staff opened the letter and the $100,000 check dropped out, she said, they jumped for joy.

“We are very pleased about this, because we know it will help save taxpayers’ dollars,” she said.