Dream library out, practical repairs in
DELMAR—After last month’s trouncing of the Bethlehem Public Library’s expansion project bond vote by a 2:1 margin, the Library’s Board of Trustees reconvened at their January 13 meeting to shift course from building expansion to building repairs.
The Board agreed with Board President Mark Kissinger’s recommendation to have the Building Committee establish a repair priority list, together with an explanation of what the repair is, its need, a timetable, and associated costs.
Library Executive Director Geoffrey Kirkpatrick, in an interview, said a lot of things need to be fixed and those items need to be prioritized.
“The board heard from the public, and they have to reorient themselves to looking at this project in a different way,” Kirkpatrick said. “The vision part of the project is not the direction.” Kirkpatrick believes the public wants the necessary repairs done.
While Board member Caroline Brancatella agreed that the vote’s takeaway was that the priority is repair, she hinted there would still be other priorities. Brancatella suggested the board create a monthly action plan, including public outreach and input items.
Brancatella suggested that public outreach include educating the public about the bond process. Brancatella believed there was a mistaken public impression that costs associated with the bond itself were unnecessary and only added for the “board’s comfort.”
During the public comment period, Delmar resident Anne Moore said outreach to the public was not the problem. She said the board should work on hearing what the public is communicating to them. “I am hearing the same mindset that is going to guarantee the next thing being defeated as well,” Moore said.
Three Bethlehem residents, Jim Moshier, Rick Bird, and Oliver Holmes, all of whom mentioned their construction backgrounds, admonished the board to work within what the community can afford and is willing to pay for. Holmes said to prioritize needed repairs and do what “is financially responsible to do what needs to be done.”
Board members agreed they faced a reckoning from the public based on the lopsided December vote tallying 3,597 against and 1,773 in favor of the proposed renovation project.
Board member Lisa Scoons told the board to pay attention to information contained in an exit survey. However, board member Gail Sacco warned against overly relying on that information because she believed the survey results derived from only about 0.5% of the voters.
Board member Sarah Patterson also questioned relying on public feedback. “We need to figure out who we are getting the feedback from,” Patterson said. “Maybe the problem solved itself by bringing it to a vote.” Brancatella commented, “There are some people who will come to the table at the last minute.”
DiBetta also said she believes the problem lay in asking the public what they would like to see in a library, without ever asking, “How much are you willing to pay?” “You have to temper the dreaming,” DiBetta said.
Brancatella commented that while she was disappointed in the outcome, it was “wonderful” to see so many people in the Library winding through the book stacks waiting for their turn to vote. “If nothing else, it was democracy in action,” she said. “Sometimes democracy gives you a result you weren’t expecting or didn’t want.”
That recognition resonated in the Board’s decision at its meeting to reject a suggestion to spend a $1,500 legislative grant from State Assemblyman Scott Bendett to buy a new children’s area play kitchen and instead apply it to any upcoming repairs. Board member and Vice President Michelle Walsh said, given the post-vote feedback, the funds should pay for repairs rather than something “fun.”
While the exact path forward remains undetermined, Kirkpatrick explained that process issues, including creating a plan and budget, SEQRA review, RFP requirements, State Board of Education approval for safety items, school board approval, and a 45-day required notice period before holding a referendum vote, would stall any future referendum vote past the May 2025 school budget vote when it would be put before voters. Brancatella concurred that May 2025 was impossible, and any 2025 vote is unlikely.
In the meantime, some repairs are needed now. Kirkpatrick said those repairs have yet to be prioritized by the board in this go-round, but some repairs can be paid for from the Library’s fund balance without having to first hold a bond referendum to borrow funds. “There is a cost and a relevance that the Board will have to weigh,” he said.
While Kirkpatrick had not yet prioritized his own list, he said boiler replacement and asbestos removal are important. He said asbestos abatement is expensive, and the board will have to decide if the Library can pay for that now or needs to wait for bonding.
“They misjudged the public and the finances and misspent an enormous amount of money they didn’t have to spend,” said Glenmont resident Terrence Rooney.
Kirkpatrick said, “That particular project as it existed is done. It is not moving forward.” However, he said the Library has all the completed renovation documents and that it learned a lot about the building’s repair needs, so some project costs would have been incurred anyway.
“What everyone wants in a library is more than they want to spend,” Kirkpatrick said. “The board now has to take a more dollar-value look as to what the community will support.”