September 2009 Update
Nearly two years have passed since I began working at John Jermain, and much has changed at the library: Our circulation numbers have increased; my dream of expanding our History Room collection, and digitizing those materials, is a reality thanks to the Friends’ purchase of the Tooker manuscript; a successful referendum vote has provided for the appropriation of funds to restore, expand, and add accessibility to our historic building. The community was instrumental in this process : Asking difficult and challenging questions throughout the planning, attending meetings, helping with outreach, and perhaps most importantly, abiding by a vision of stewardship in the face of uncertainty and exploration about just what the library should be, always with an eye to the library’s future.
And now—the future is here, made brighter by the renovation and expansion project. Within days of the positive referendum results I had prepared an informational package on the building program for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). The JJML facility, as a “contributing building within the National Register-listed Sag Harbor Historic District,” must, by law, be reviewed by OPRHP before any changes or additions are made to the structure. On July 21st I received official notice stating “…it is the opinion of the OPRHP that the proposed addition in theory will have No Adverse Impact on the historic and cultural resources of Sag Harbor.”
On July 28th I met with Chris Barletta and Victor Conseco from Sandpebble Builders, Michael Scott and Richard Munday from Newman, along with their colleague Erin Gallagher, who will be acting as the project architect, and Vinnie Gardiello from Raynor who will be doing our site survey. After a general discussion on the project we were joined by Board President Diane Gaites who accompanied us to a meeting with various representatives from the village including Tony Tohill (lawyer for the village boards), Richard Warren (land use consultant for the village), Neil Slevin (Head of Planning Board), Cee Scott Brown (head of ARB) and Gil Flanagan, land use lawyer for JJML. The meeting covered a variety of issues including: parking, a parking study, site survey requirements, permitting process, Environmental Impact Statement, SEQR, project timing, etc.
Newman, Sandpebble, and I are taking part in weekly conference calls to review progress, concerns and questions. The calls, which run about two hours, are a useful way to keep all parties involved in the various aspects of the project.
I have final word from the State that the amendments to our charter, clarifying the boundaries of our service area, are complete. And I met with Joe Price, our insurance agent, to discuss changes in our coverage that we will need during the construction phase. I also updated our collection numbers and values with him to provide for adequate funds to replace our materials in case of damage during the move to a temporary space.
Fieldwork on the Site Survey has begun. Bids were sent out for a Hazardous Materials Consultant and a Traffic study was completed over Labor Day weekend. In the next few weeks we will have updated drawings and elevations. Please leave a comment below, stop by my office or call to share your ideas.
Earlier updates that previously appeared on this page can be read by clicking the “Update Archive” link below.
More Renovation and Expansion Information:
3 Comments
June 4, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Glad to hear that the library is going through renovation and expansion. Thank you for all your hard work and am sure that the community will benefit in many ways from the renovated library.
June 30, 2009 at 11:52 am
Thank heavens for the good voters of the Harbor. At last, the thinking is over and the library can get on with the job…it needs some ok’s from the village boards etc but these should go quickly for it has been too long. Congrats to our Director for I feel that she came on at the right time and was the right person, also to the staff for putting up with the surrounding all those years…our thanks to all who worked so hard and dont forget the present board and their work…onward!
June 30, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Thank you Dorothy! I too am grateful to my colleagues for their hard work and good humor, the board for all the hours they’ve given to the library, and to the people of Sag Harbor for all they’ve contributed to this process. Here’s to the months ahead!