In a special meeting July 7, Great Neck library trustees approved a new referendum date of Oct. 25 for a public vote on the main library branch construction bond.
Trustees previously approved Nov. 15 with a backup date of Nov. 22, which are “unworkable” because of a conflict with the November general election, according to Great Neck Library Director Jane B. Marino.
The Great Neck school district will run the election for the library and provide voting machines, Marino said. The machines will be unavailable in November because they are held for up to 30 days after an election.
“In conversations with the school district, the library board determined that November 15 would prove unworkable, as the School District would be unable to provide the voting machines necessary one week after the general election on November 8th,” Marino said in a press release.
The library is seeking voter approval of construction that would add 8,600 square feet to the main branch and make it accessible to patrons with disabilities. It would also expand the children’s room, teen center, audio visual department, and isolate the computers.
The plan was estimated a year and a half ago to cost $22.5 million, and add an additional $86 in property taxes on a $1 million house.
“That number is going to come down,” said James Wojcik, president of Park East Construction Corp., the library’s construction management firm. He said Park East will have an updated estimate by the end of the month.
Trustees will approve the proposition language, including the bond amount, at a special meeting Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the community room. The school board must approve the proposition language at their Aug. 22 meeting.
The downward trend in construction costs means that a new main branch could include additional options that had previously been too expensive, such as a green roof with irrigation, or trustees could approve a reduced bond amount.
To save money, final design plans will not be drawn until after the election.
“There are certain parts, small parts, of the design that we do not know yet,” said Library President Janet Eshaghoff. “We do know it’s going to be a great library. That we can deliver to you. We cannot deliver to you a final product for you to vote on.”
Wojcik said a complete design would have been cost prohibitive.
“There is no way to know unless you want to pay $1 million and have 100 percent [design] documents.”
Former library Trustee Ralene Adler requested that library trustees consider reducing the scope of construction.
“Eight thousand square feet isn’t worth the trouble – that is the feeling of the community,” Adler said. “We don’t need the extra 8,000-square feet to divide the community.”
