The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees met on Tuesday night to discuss its next public vote: the Nov. 19 referendum to fund a $10.4 million renovation of the Main Library.
Great Neck Library Board of Trustees President Marietta DiCamillo said that the building advisory committee has held five public meetings and attended numerous village government meetings with between 300 and 400 people in total attendance.
Trustee Michael Fuller spoke about the difficulties in the relocation process of finding alternative space for library services while Main is shut down for the proposed construction.
“I was talking to a property owner about possible relocation and he said, ‘They’re a bunch of thieves, just throwing away our money,’ and I’m a little concerned because I think his view may reflect the view of a number of people who just aren’t really informed as to what’s going on,” Fuller said. “He’s still willing to help us but I’m afraid his kneejerk reaction is reflective of a lot of people out there.”
The board discussed delivering five-minute, bullet-pointed information sessions on the renovation before most library events leading up to the Nov. 19 vote.
“If you go to a [Great Neck] Park District presentation, they get up there, thank you for coming and tell you what is happening in the next few weeks and we should do the same,” said board secretary Varda Solomon .
The board discussed purchasing a banner across Middle Neck Road to increase the publicity around the vote.
The proposed renovation, which would include a revamp of the library’s interior and millions in infrastructure spending, is a scaled down alternative to a 2011 proposal for a $20.8 million expansion of the Main Branch. That plan was soundly defeated at the ballot box after a campaign by residents and former library trustees who criticized what they saw as an excessive tax hike.
The $10.4 million renovation would increase community space, open the design of the library, condense book storage and update the building’s infrastructure, KG &D president Russell Davidson has said.
The plan – the seventh option prepared by KG&D after months of consultation with the library’s Building Advisory Committee – calls for an expanded diagonal entryway leading past reference and circulation desks to a bay window overlooking Udalls Pond, and includes a mezzanine overlooking the downstairs gallery.
The plan would also feature an larger community room by the main entrance to the building – a shift that Kaeyer said could allow public access to meeting space outside of normal business hours.
The children’s and young adult sections would see expanded floor space, and the children’s books would be moved entirely downstairs. Kaeyer said the new children’s section would feature its own check-out desk and would allow parents with strollers to access the library through the lower level without having to navigate stairs or elevators.
The project’s estimated $10.4 million budget, which library board members said could potentially change in response to public input, includes $4.25 million for infrastructure, $4.1 million for renovations, nearly a half million dollars in new construction and $878,000 in contingency funding.
The planned infrastructure changes include a new roof, new, better insulated windows, a revamp of the building’s HVAC system and new lighting. Davidson termed the project a “complete renovation.”
The construction is expected to result in up to a year’s closure for the Main Branch.
The board also approved the purchase of computer software that will allow members of the public to pay for membership, library fines and make donations with credit cards.
Members of the board discussed how it helps patrons who want to reserve an item but can’t because of their fines, or don’t have the exact change to pay their fines.
“This is something that almost all other libraries have and that we really have been on the slower side of implementing,” said DiCamillo. “It’s not an earning money item, it’s a convenience service.”
Two members of the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees were re-elected in an uncontested vote on Monday. DiCamillo and Fuller were each elected to four-year terms, receiving 100 and 110 votes respectively.
