The Great Neck Library Board of Trustees voted Tuesday night to formally authorize a long-planned renovation of the library’s Main Branch and establish a Nov. 19 public referendum on the $10.4 million bond required for the project.
Great Neck Library Board of Trustees President Marietta DiCamillo, who has presided over multiple public presentations of architectural firm KG&D’s plan for the renovation, said Tuesday night’s special meeting on the project was productive.
“[We] unanimously passed referendum language and are one step closer to a successful renovation of the Main Library building. This is an exciting time for us and the Board of Trustees at the Great Neck Library are very busy – operating well within the community and staff. Our public information meetings continue and we have received feed back from those who have attended,” DiCamillo wrote in an e-mail.
The resolution also indicated the proposed bond would be paid out over 20 years and require an extra $875,000 in annual tax revenue for the bond period.
The proposed renovation, which would include a revamp of the library’s interior and millions in infrastructure spending, is a scaled down alternative to a 2011 proposal for a $20.8 million expansion of the Main Branch. That plan was soundly defeated at the ballot box after a campaign by residents and former library trustees who criticized what they saw as an excessive tax hike.
The $10.4 million renovation would increase community space, open the design of the library, condense book storage and update the building’s infrastructure, KG &D president Russell Davidson has said.
The plan – the seventh option prepared by KG&D after months of consultation with the library’s Building Advisory Committee – calls for an expanded diagonal entryway leading past reference and circulation desks to a bay window overlooking Udalls Pond, and includes a mezzanine overlooking the downstairs gallery.
The plan would also feature an larger community room by the main entrance to the building – a shift that Kaeyer said could allow public access to meeting space outside of normal business hours.
The children’s and young adult sections would see expanded floor space, and the children’s books would be moved entirely downstairs. Kaeyer said the new children’s section would feature its own check-out desk and would allow parents with strollers to access the library through the lower level without having to navigate stairs or elevators.
The project’s estimated $10.4 million budget, which library board members said could potentially change in response to public input, includes $4.25 million for infrastructure, $4.1 million for renovations, nearly a half million dollars in new construction and $878,000 in contingency funding.
The planned infrastructure changes include a new roof, new, better insulated windows, a revamp of the building’s HVAC system and new lighting. Davidson termed the project a “complete renovation.”
The construction is expected to result in up to a year’s closure for the Main Branch.
