Report of the Ad Hoc Capital Committee
Background
This committee was charged with looking at the potential capital expenditures facing Granby over the next ten years. We were asked to accomplish this by using, where possible, past studies of the buildings in Town, updated for current conditions, and informal cost estimates. The purpose of this study is to give the Town a broad perspective on all the major capital expenditures the Town could resonably expect to be facing within in the next decade.
We expect that there will be a relatively limited amount of funds tha taxpayers will make available for capital expenditures during this time. This will not allow Granby to create ideal solutions to the Town's problems.
Furthermore, the sheer monetary cost of potential projects make it clear that the Town will have to find some solutions that in many instances are far from the ideal choices for the problems the Town faces.
Granby Public Library
The Granby Public Library is the municipal facility most in need. The minimum recommended size for a Public Library for a Town with
The State of
However, this indicates to us that the State is aware of the current situation, and that the Board of Library Commissioners has funds to support library construction. Our estimate is that they would provide approximately a 50% reimbursement for a free-standing library building. So a $2.0 million investment by the Town could build a library worth almost $4 million.
The Library’s current location at the end of the common does not lend itself to expansion. The Town does not own enough land there to accommodate a larger building of the required size and provide the required parking. Informal discussions with an architect have told us that it is very difficult to try to add to a Carnegie Library and have the addition blend into the original architectural design. Additionally, the land itself, because of ledge, would not be easy to build on. Those four problems, at least, would have to be overcome before an addition could be considered. There would certainly be additional costs.
Another possibility has recently arisen. With the purchase of a building for the Council on Aging, the Aldrich property will soon be available. If the buildings currently on that property were razed, there could be enough room to locate an appropriately sized Library building and accommodate the necessary parking.
We would recommend that the Town explore locating a new Library building on the Aldrich property. This could be a near-ideal solution for one of
The full text document of the Report of the Ad Hoc Capital Committee can be found down the page under "Trustee Meeting Minutes."
Board of Trustees
Trustee Meetings
Held in the lower level of the library.
The next meeting is set for Monday, August 2nd. The group will be meeting promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Meeting Minutes
August 2008 Trustee Meeting Minutes |
| Posted on Nov 10 2008 |
August 4, 2008
Present: Virginia Snopek, Bridget Roy, Amy Kimball, Nancy Evren, Leah Condon, Renee Still, Dianne Barry, and Director Jennifer Crosby.
Absent: April Judicki, and Gwen Morrissey
The minutes from the July meeting were read and accepted with corrections.
The nominating committee brought forward these nominations for offices;
Chair- Virginia Snopek
Library Director- Jennifer Crosby
Secretary to the Board- Nancy Evren
Substitute secretary- Dianne Barry
All nominees were unanimously voted into their respective offices.
Melissa Aldrich was invited to our meeting to discuss plans to re-vamp our web page. She brought in a presentation and explained the proposed changes. She answered questions and gave us a cost estimate. We will deliberate and get in touch with Melissa.
Pavilion Update:
The ceremony was very nice. Senator Candaras joined in to help cut the ribbon. Channel 3 filmed part of the ceremony. The Friends of Granby’s Library were very pleased with the pavilion dedication.
Virginia and Renee went to Design Workshop to shop for signs and lettering for the dedication sign for the pavilion. There were two choices- A 22K gold vinyl composite 32” X 72” sign for $550.00 or a black wooden sign with letters carved into it for $2,250.00 A motion to choose the gold vinyl sign passed unanimously. The sign will be paid for out of the Smith-Ferry Fund.
After the Open House, Janice MacArdle sent an e-mail to Virginia about the Open House. She requested that a formal thank you be sent to Jay Fabricius for all his help during the event. A gift certificate to “Twinkle Toes Salon” on Main Street in Belchertown will be purchased for him.
Dog Policy: Should dogs be allowed at library functions? During recent events dogs on the property left “dog business” on the lawn and were tied up and left to bark. From now on, dogs will not be welcome on the premises. Jennifer will look into how other libraries handle this.
Poison Ivy: There is a lot around the yard. Jennifer will speak with Dave Turcotte about spraying for it.
Review of Pavilion Policies for Library Use and Non-library use:
On August 12th, the pavilion has been reserved for use by Nathan Bech, who is running for a political office. This brings up the issue of how the pavilion will be used. The question of charging a fee for out –of- town users was brought up. A motion was made to charge out-of-town users to pay a fee of $50.00. The policy and application will be amended. Virginia will check with Chris Martin about how the fee collected can be used and what kind of fund it will be put in.
The pavilion is now covered by the Town’s insurance.
Chief Barry has expressed his concern about traffic near the pavilion, the proximity to route 202, safety of the children using it, and people pulling off 202 to pick up their kids. He feels there should be a barrier between the pavilion and the road. He will write a formal letter to the Board outlining these concerns.
The Library Commissioners want us to submit a new draft proposal for the Covenant of the Community Library. Ann Larson has said that she has already sent a letter outlining what needs to be done, but we did not get it. We will ask her to send it again. The Building subcommittee working on the covenant will meet on September 10th. The subcommittee will work on the draft then. Virginia will submit a letter saying we are working on the draft.
The Board discussed the proposal by Melissa Aldrich for updating our website. A unanimous motion was made to hire Melissa to redesign our web page.
Director’s Report:
On page 3 and front of the WMRLS Wrapper Newsletter are two articles about our Granby Library. One is about the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for the pavilion, written by Jennifer Crosby. The other one is by Janice McArdle describing the summer youth “Bead-a-thon”.
Joe Kislo has donated $1,000.00 in memory of his wife Patti. Their son has promised a matching donation. He wants to see a memorial garden in Patti’s honor.
The security system is still not under contract for completion. We have gotten quotes for the security camera system and the door hardware, but we are still trying to tie in all pieces of this job. We need two new doors, plus the cameras, and the hardware. We will offer the job of replacing the doors to Frank Boron. He will be hired.
ARIS report information is due August 15th.
Jennifer reports that she has required classes for five Tuesdays at 4:00 and must leave at 2:30. She has arranged for substitutes.
Janice is still hoping to get the resin chairs for use during programs under the pavilion. A motion was made to have her go ahead and purchase 20 chairs for this use. We will check with the Friends to see if the cost can come from the Waste Management grant.
Warrants in the amount of $872.50 and $7,717.23 were unanimously approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15
Next meeting will be September 11th
Respectfully submitted by Dianne Barry
Never Falter, Never Quit!
Last changed: Nov 10 2008 at 11:16 AM
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