Plans to renovate the Great Neck Library’s Main branch advanced at a board meeting Tuesday night, as trustees approved a resolution to draw up a design contract with the architectural firm Kaeyer, Garment and Davidson.
The selection came after the library’s building advisory committee, a group of residents, technical professionals, trustees and library staff, presented a short list of four architects to the board at September’s meeting.
“It was a long and difficult decision,” said board President Varda Solomon, adding that the other three firms in contention – Gallin Beeler Design Studio, H2M and Beatty, Harvey, Coco – had also made impressive presentations to the board.
The renovation plan comes on the heels of a proposed $20.8 million expansion of the Main branch, which was defeated by a landslide in an October 2011 referendum
Ralene Adler, a former trustee and member of the committee, is a member of the Library Watchdog group that led opposition to the expansion. She praised Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson’s communication with the committee and their architect’s proposal.
“He made a very good impression,” said Adler.
The 2011 expansion plan would have added 8,600 square feet to the Main branch’s footprint and added accessibility for disabled patrons, but would have forced a two-year branch closure.
The new proposal is designed to avoid an extended closure, and though a budget has not officially been drawn up, an executive summary of the committee’s meeting with an architectural firm in September estimated a $10 million cost.
Also at the meeting, Trustee Francine Krupski served perhaps the shortest vice presidential term in the library’s history as the board shuffled positions following the September resignation of Vice President Martin Sokol.
The board unanimously approved Krupski, who is also the board’s secretary, to serve as interim vice president until January, by which time the board hopes to have a replacement for Sokol.
But Trustee Marietta DiCamillo raised concerns over Krupski holding two positions at once, and within minutes the vice presidency was transferred to Trustee Janet Esagoff, the board’s former president.
Adler raised concerns at the meeting about the library’s preparations for electrical failure in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, noting that service was limited at branches which did have power after the storm due to the shutdown of the catalog system at the library’s blacked-out Main branch.
Adler strongly recommended the purchase of a generator for the Main branch, and questioned why it was not on the meeting’s agenda.
“It is in discussion and it will be on the agenda when we get more information,” said Solomon. “We want to hear what a professional has to say.”
Library Director Jane Marino presented her report to the board, which discussed the challenges faced by staff working through the power outage and also advocated for the installation of a generator.
Marino’s report noted that the board tabled discussion over generator installation at its February meeting, citing uncertainty over permitting and the generator’s placement in a renovated building – concerns she wrote were outweighed by the importance of maintaining access to power.
“For a cost of $24,000 we would have been able to provide our patrons access to our collection, access to our databases and access to the internet other than the wireless service we did provide,” Marino wrote. “It is my opinion that this would be money well spent and a new generator such as this can be relocated, if necessary and reused in a renovated building.”
