BY JOHN NUGENT
The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees voted on Thursday to approve spending for the first of its two major branch renovations.
A construction contract was awarded to Jobco Inc. to renovate the Station Branch in an amount not to exceed $458,000.
Elizabeth Martin, architect with MDA Design Group, participated in the meeting to give information and answer questions about the overall plans for the new design of the 6,500-square-foot facility.
Martin said she expected that work would start four to six weeks after the board vote pending movement of library materials and furniture out of the building to temporary storage and issuance of a building permit by the Village of Great Neck Plaza.
Pamala Marksheid, deputy mayor of Great Neck Plaza, noted that during the renovation of the Main Library, many books were discarded in the storage phase.
“They figured that things were going to be digital, and that’s the way to go” said Marksheid, expressing concern that this might happen again.
Martin responded that she was instructed by the library “to make sure that there was enough shelving in this renovation to house the entire collection.”
Board President Weihua Yan added that the library directors and staff are looking to add more shelving and space to accommodate expansion of the library collection.
In addition to the construction contract, the board approved resolutions for lease renewal on the building, moving and storage of library materials, procurement and installation of furniture, and shelving for the books.
“I consider the lease the linchpin of this project because obviously if we could not get good terms from the landlord it would be unwise to spend the amount of money we are going to spend,” George Trepp, the interim library director, said.
The lease agreement calls for a term of 15 years. The initial year of the lease will be the base year followed by a 1% rent increase in years 2-6 and a 2% increase in years 7-15. Also, the landlord, Kabro Brothers, will grant a rent credit of $175,000 over a five-year period that will be directed toward funding the upgrade project.
Contracts were awarded to WGB for moving and storage in the amount of $51,850 and for shelving in the amount of $48,963.
Furniture procurement and installation will be provided by Inside Source for $101,768.
All expenses will be charged to the library Branch and Special Services Fund.
Work is expected to start sometime in May, said Yan. Martin estimated the project would take four to five months.
A discussion arose in the meeting regarding an issue that came to light only recently, the renovation of the restrooms and the problem of poor water pressure in the building.
The original plan called for the renovation of only one of the two restrooms, said Trepp. However, after determining that both restrooms are in very poor condition, Trepp said that consideration is now being given to removing $32,000 from the contract pending a renegotiation of that part of the project.
Also, engineers will be consulted to analyze the water pressure problem, said Martin. Marksheid added that issues involving water coming into the building should be the responsibility of the landlord.
The next regular board meeting was scheduled for April 20.
