County officials estimate that a redesign project on the main branch of the Schenectady County library in downtown Schenectady could close the library from 12 to 14 months.
At a presentation to the County Legislature on Monday, May 5, Project Manager Tony Ward said that the county’s goal of keeping approximately 8,300-square-feet of space open to the public was unfeasible due to major safety concerns.
He also said that keeping the space open would cost the county time and money.
The $7.7 million redesign project will bring the building’s electrical, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems up to date and will include asbestos abatement.
Ward said the current systems in the building are at the end of their life.
The final design by Engberg Anderson Design Partnership of Milwaukee also calls for the addition of 9,600-square-feet to the library’s current 26,800 feet, and includes plans for children’s space, performance space, and a small cafE.
The redesign also calls for the demolition of the McChesney Room, the branch’s main public meeting space, where events and seminars are often held.
County Republicans were quick to attack the program for its costs, its undesirable effect on foot-traffic in the downtown area and for its negative effect on the nearly 1,400 people that use the main branch, located on the corner of Clinton and Liberty streets, everyday.
`I think we’re looking at the Mercedes Benz plans, when what we can afford is the Ford or Chevy model,` said Legislator Joe Suhrada, R-Rotterdam.
Suhrada was also critical of the loss of the library’s McChesney Room, which he applauded for its `fine acoustics,` built in the style of master-architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
While Minority Leader Robert Farley was less concerned about the project’s price tag, he said it was a `disgrace` that the plan could shut down the flagship branch for more than a year.
`It’s the heart of the community and the entire city,` said Farley. `It’s a place for people that can’t afford to go anyplace else.`
The Friends of the Schenectady County Library, a group of volunteers that have raised about $2 million for the redesign project, largely agree with Farley. Many were in attendance at the informational meeting, but did not speak in front of the Legislature. Public privilege of the floor is reserved for the Legislature’s regular meeting on Monday, May 12.
The Friends were shocked last week when they heard the library could close for more than a year. Members of the group told reporters that they were under the impression that the library could remain open while construction occurred in several phases.
Eleanor Rowland, the group’s volunteer coordinator, said the Legislature should revert to a plan proposed by the library’s Board of Trustees several ago that retained the McChesney Room and eliminated what she called `frills` like the small cafE.
`The trustees had an excellent plan,` said Rowland. `The (current) plan got too elaborate.`
Library Director Andy Kulmatiski, though, said he’s in the process of working out a deal with Proctors CEO Philip Morris that could allow the main branch library to move some of its materials to a satellite venue, inside the theater’s complex. Kulmatiski said he would also work to expand programs at the system’s nine branches, located throughout the county, and other sites downtown.
Harold Wusterbarth, the Friends’ treasurer, said that people are beginning to demand a return of their donations because they’re angered by the branch’s potential closure.
`I may have to return the money,` said Wusterbarth. `We have to get back to a simpler plan.`
County Democrats were equally wary of the proposed closure, which could become an election issue. Chair Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, and Diane Johnson, D-Schenectady, questioned the project’s public popularity and Legislator Philip Fields, D-Schenectady, asked Ward if there was any way to reduce the scope of the project to shorten the closure.
Ward did say an implementation of needed upgrades to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning only could shorten the project, keeping the library closed for only four to six months.
Director Kulmatiski was also adamant that he did not foresee the need to cut any of the main branch’s nearly 70 staff members, who will be sent out along with materials to library branches and will work to bolster programming throughout the county.
The current cost of the project is $3.5 million for the addition and $1.6 million for repairs to the library’s aged infrastructure. The architects factored in $339,000 for site work, $843,413 for new furnishings, a 10 percent inflation cost of $561,504 and $849,406 for professional fees and testing. The final price tag is $404,221 less than the initial design proposed two years ago.
The county Legislature will provide $5.7 million toward the project, paid through bonds. The library board and Friends of the Library have raised about $2 million in private donations.
The library’s Board of Trustees will review bids for the project on Thursday, May 22, at the system’s Niskayuna branch.
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