The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees has set a tentative date for an estimated $10 million referendum to renovate the library’s Main Branch at 159 Bayview Ave.
The board passed a resolution targeting Nov. 19 for the vote, which will be open to all residents of the Great Neck Public School district. The date is still subject to final approval by the school district.
With a date set, board President Marietta DiCamillo said the board would launch more aggressive public outreach ahead of a planned July 23 public meeting where a plan from architectural firm KG&D will be presented to residents.
“We think the board will like the plan and the public will like the plan,” DiCamillo said.
The library’s Building Advisory Committee, made up of trustees, staff, and members of the public, is working on the seventh iteration of the plan with KG&D. The committees meetings, though public, have attracted little participation from residents, and DiCamillo said the plan it develops will be subject to change based on public comment.
“We will continue to modify it up until the phase when we have a schematic,” DiCamillo said.
The July 23 meeting, which the board indicated would be promoted by e-mail blasts and other efforts to reach the public, will feature a budget estimate and an architectural plan. The Building Advisory Committee will meet July 9 with the architects to continue work on the design.
“We will also reach out to civics, seniors, park districts, the Great Neck Village Officials Association – everywhere,” DiCamillo said.
The board had intended on putting forward a September vote, but the school district asked them to hold off, DiCamillo said.
“It was too difficult logistically,” she said.
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.
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, DiCamillo said the current number was around $10.4 million and could vary due to contingency costs and later modifications.
In other library news, the library’s director search committee, which is looking for a permanent replacement for departed Director Jane Marino, is headed back to the drawing board.
The committee had narrowed its search to two candidates, said trustee Francine Krupski, but one dropped out prior to an interview and the other was interviewed by phone and found unsuitable.
“The consensus of the committee is this was not the person we were looking for,” Krupski said.
On the recommendation of the committee, the board upped its salary range from a maximum of $128,000 to $150,000, saying the change was necessary to attract competitive candidates.
“What we were offering was on the low side,” Krupski said.
The board authorized an additional $1,500 to recruit for the position, on top of $1,000 authorized during the initial search.
The board also announced that state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) had told them he had secured $25,000 in additional state aid for the library to be spent on an as-yet undetermined project.
