Supporters of the public library system want the Schenectady County Legislature to start over with plans to rehabilitate and expand the central branch.
Almost a dozen Friends of the Schenectady Public Library and library trustees spoke Tuesday night at the Legislature’s regular meeting, urging legislators to go back to a plan library trustees drew up in 2003.
That plan would construct a $4 million addition between the central branch and the police station on Liberty Street and repair mechanical systems within the central branch.
County Manager Kathleen Rooney said she wants to work with community groups to reach a consensus on a new design that works for them and is cost-effective.
John Karl, a library trustee and former president of the Friends of the Schenectady Public Library, asked legislators to re-establish a building committee of library trustees, Friends and others. The committee would develop a plan to repair library systems and provide additional space without disrupting services to the public.
“The philosophy has been this is a county project, not a library project. That is crazy,” Karl said.
Karl served on a committee that produced the 2003 design. Library trustees went to the Legislature for funding in 2004, the Legislature dismissed the committee in 2004, rejected the plan and hired a new architect. The architect came up with a proposal to expand the central branch by 9,000 square feet and replace 40-year-old mechanical systems. That plan includes demolition of the McChesney Room and the construction of a new entrance facing the intersection of Clinton and Liberty streets. The proposal was presented to the public, but attendance was sparse.
County Legislator Joseph Suhrada, R-Rotterdam, said the project got out of hand when the Legislature got involved. “We stuck our noses and tried to take control. It was a great case of meddling,” he said. “We made a huge mistake and should admit it.”
Officials said the work would be done in phases to prevent minimal disruption to services. So many people were shocked two weeks ago to learn that the central branch would have to close for a year, perhaps more, to complete the work.
The Friends and others immediately launched an effort to keep the library open. They collected nearly 1,000 signatures and some county legislators said they were inundated with phone calls from people protesting the closure.
NEW CHOICES
On Saturday, county legislators announced they would seek two alternative bids to reduce costs of the $7.7 million project and reduce the amount of time the central branch would be closed. Democrats said they were reacting to the public outcry.
“It is not to cast blame but to have a project that everyone can be happy with. We are re-evaluating it and working through it,” said County Attorney Chris Gardner.
Alternative “A” calls for replacing major systems in the building — heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems — removing asbestos and general upgrades to the first floor. The library would be closed only a short time during this phase.
Alternative “B” would reconfigure the 22,600-square-foot second floor, which is currently used for library administration and storage. Library materials stored on the second floor can be consolidated to make way for use of this space for library services and programs
Karl said the latest proposals would leave in place the existing facade along Clinton and Liberty streets, meaning the McChesney Room would not be demolished for a cafe and new entrance. “The other thing I keep hearing is they will do the minimum in maintenance and use the money elsewhere, for other projects the county has,” he said.
Fred Thompson, a member of the Friends, said the county Legislature never discussed the alternative-bid proposals with the Friends or trustees before Saturday’s announcement, calling more of the same process that brought the project to its latest crisis.
“They are pulling a plan from someplace and have not talked to anyone with this plan. It is the same problem, a lack of transparency in how this process works,” Thompson said.
Gardner said County Manager Kathleen Rooney was in constant contact with trustee President Esther Swanker. Swanker concurred.
CONTRIBUTORS UPSET
Karl said the constant change of plans has upset some contributors to the library’s fundraising effort. The library board and Friends of the Library have raised about $2 million in private donations. The county was expected to provide $5.7 million toward the project, paid through bonds, but may reconsider its investment due to financial worries.
“I have heard the people use the word fraud. We did do our fundraising on a design to push the library to the east, toward the police station,” Karl said. When the Legislature changed the design, “we went out and started supporting the new plan but ran into resistance.”
He said the library raised money for a proposed art gallery and sold seats for $250 in a proposed auditorium. Some of the money was matched by GE. The alternatives do not include any of these features.
Thompson said the 2003 design called for a 12,000-square-foot addition to the east side of the building. It would be connected to the central branch through a door and have its own mechanical systems. The plan also called for repairing the central branch’s mechanical systems. The work would have had minimal impact on operations.
Trustees and the Friends lost control of the project once it went to the county Legislature in 2004, Karl said. “They hired a new architect and came up with a new plan to change the facade to make it more in line with the Center City concept, where the entrance would face City Hall. It would get rid of the McChesney hump, which county Legislature leaders thought was ugly.”
Karl, a Republican, blamed the Democrat-controlled Schenectady County Legislature for the latest setback in a long-running project. “I want to make it clear to the public this plan that has been set aside was not the trustees’, not the Friends’, not the public’s, not the staffs’. It was strictly an initiative by the county Legislature,” he said.
Categories: Schenectady County
