Tom
06-08-2009, 07:30 PM
May 2009
Renovate to the tune of 30 percent or more of appraised value and the state requires the building be brought into compliance with the latest codes.
The most recent appraisal, going back a few years, puts the value of the Walpole Public Library building at $600,000, according to library trustees chairman Paul Cesary. The code trigger would be below $200,000.
To bring the Common Street building into full code compliance would cost more than the town's share of the costs of a proposed new library, Cesary said. No state aid would be available.
An override question for the town's $6.2 million share of an $11.2 million new library at Stone and School is on the June 6 election ballot. A state matching grant of $4 million and $1 million in private donations would cover the rest of the cost.
Even if there were no parking problems and other limitations at Common Street, an overhaul of the existing building, even well short of meeting 21st Century needs, does not appear possible, Cesary said in the interview last week.
He noted the state award has a Dec. 31 deadline. The next round of state library grants will be at best several years from now.
If the library stays in its existing building, it's open to challenge on its failure to meet Americans with Disability Act requirements, Cesary said. Given the cost of bringing the building up to code, the impact of an administrative or court order would be felt quickly.
Less dramatic but still damaging would be the effect of "falling farther behind" in an outdated building with no prospect for a major renovation. The library building dates to 1903 with a 1965 addition, he said.
The children's room is in the basement, the young adult area is small balcony and the adult non-fiction area, like two-thirds of the library, has no air conditioning, Cesary noted.
(A support site for a new library has photos of existing conditions.)
The library has a strong children's following but loses the young adults, he said, because it cannot offer the necessary facilities or programs.
He saw a mother with a handicapped youngster approach the narrow stairs leading to the young adult space. They had to turn away and left the library, the mother visibly angry. "I never want to see an expression like that again," he said.
If the override is approved, the state money comes in phases up front and not as a reimbursement, he said.
The amount asked in the override is $800,000 less than what was sought unsuccessfully on the November ballot. The main cut is the elimination of a service corridor. Cesary said he's encouraged by the heightened competition among builders, noting that bids for Norwood's high school project came in millions of dollars under the estimate.
The library project would be funded by a 20-year borrowing that would add $70 to the property taxes of an average home in the first year, decreasing by $1.80 a year to $36 in the 20th.
Second try
Library Trustees Chairman Paul Cesary said he wouldn't be doing the job he was elected to if he didn't push for an override this second time.
"How can I turn away $5 million," he asked, referring to the grant money and donations that would be lost without an override.
On the first try, in the November presidential election, the override was defeated: no - 6,978; yes - 6,116; blanks - 561.
The library tried for the override in November despite the publicly expressed misgivings of selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston. She warned that with voters focused on other issues (McCain won in Walpole), the library plan would not get the careful consideration it deserved from some voters. Another factor: voters who turn out for town elections (3,853 of them last June) tend to be more attuned to local matters than those who turn out for a presidential election (13,655 in November.)
Selectmen voted to put the override on the June ballot 4-0; May Town Meeting backed the project 101-5. At last week's candidates night, all five selectmen contenders said they supported the override. One common thread: the state grant and donations made the new library a good deal.
The May 28 Boston Globe has a story about the override, including remarks from Susan Maguire, an opponent. She was rebuffed by selectmen in December in an effort to get part of the library site turned over for a new senior center the Friends of the Council of Aging say they would build at no cost to the taxpayer.
At that December meeting, library trustee Cesary said ge was told by the state that loss of that land would mean the loss of the $4 million grant.
Renovate to the tune of 30 percent or more of appraised value and the state requires the building be brought into compliance with the latest codes.
The most recent appraisal, going back a few years, puts the value of the Walpole Public Library building at $600,000, according to library trustees chairman Paul Cesary. The code trigger would be below $200,000.
To bring the Common Street building into full code compliance would cost more than the town's share of the costs of a proposed new library, Cesary said. No state aid would be available.
An override question for the town's $6.2 million share of an $11.2 million new library at Stone and School is on the June 6 election ballot. A state matching grant of $4 million and $1 million in private donations would cover the rest of the cost.
Even if there were no parking problems and other limitations at Common Street, an overhaul of the existing building, even well short of meeting 21st Century needs, does not appear possible, Cesary said in the interview last week.
He noted the state award has a Dec. 31 deadline. The next round of state library grants will be at best several years from now.
If the library stays in its existing building, it's open to challenge on its failure to meet Americans with Disability Act requirements, Cesary said. Given the cost of bringing the building up to code, the impact of an administrative or court order would be felt quickly.
Less dramatic but still damaging would be the effect of "falling farther behind" in an outdated building with no prospect for a major renovation. The library building dates to 1903 with a 1965 addition, he said.
The children's room is in the basement, the young adult area is small balcony and the adult non-fiction area, like two-thirds of the library, has no air conditioning, Cesary noted.
(A support site for a new library has photos of existing conditions.)
The library has a strong children's following but loses the young adults, he said, because it cannot offer the necessary facilities or programs.
He saw a mother with a handicapped youngster approach the narrow stairs leading to the young adult space. They had to turn away and left the library, the mother visibly angry. "I never want to see an expression like that again," he said.
If the override is approved, the state money comes in phases up front and not as a reimbursement, he said.
The amount asked in the override is $800,000 less than what was sought unsuccessfully on the November ballot. The main cut is the elimination of a service corridor. Cesary said he's encouraged by the heightened competition among builders, noting that bids for Norwood's high school project came in millions of dollars under the estimate.
The library project would be funded by a 20-year borrowing that would add $70 to the property taxes of an average home in the first year, decreasing by $1.80 a year to $36 in the 20th.
Second try
Library Trustees Chairman Paul Cesary said he wouldn't be doing the job he was elected to if he didn't push for an override this second time.
"How can I turn away $5 million," he asked, referring to the grant money and donations that would be lost without an override.
On the first try, in the November presidential election, the override was defeated: no - 6,978; yes - 6,116; blanks - 561.
The library tried for the override in November despite the publicly expressed misgivings of selectmen Chairman Cathy Winston. She warned that with voters focused on other issues (McCain won in Walpole), the library plan would not get the careful consideration it deserved from some voters. Another factor: voters who turn out for town elections (3,853 of them last June) tend to be more attuned to local matters than those who turn out for a presidential election (13,655 in November.)
Selectmen voted to put the override on the June ballot 4-0; May Town Meeting backed the project 101-5. At last week's candidates night, all five selectmen contenders said they supported the override. One common thread: the state grant and donations made the new library a good deal.
The May 28 Boston Globe has a story about the override, including remarks from Susan Maguire, an opponent. She was rebuffed by selectmen in December in an effort to get part of the library site turned over for a new senior center the Friends of the Council of Aging say they would build at no cost to the taxpayer.
At that December meeting, library trustee Cesary said ge was told by the state that loss of that land would mean the loss of the $4 million grant.