Greenville looks into library renovations

GREENVILLE – It’s a quaint and historic building that overlooks Moosehead Lake, but the Shaw Public Library is in dire need of major improvements, including work to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We have deficiencies in the library that need to be fixed,” Greenville Town Manager John Simko told selectmen Wednesday.

Those deficiencies include water seeping into the concrete wall in the basement, a space crunch since the children’s room was relocated from the basement to the first floor because of a mold problem, and noncompliance with ADA regulations, the town manager said.

Simko said the library trustees and library director have recommended the installation of a perimeter drain to direct groundwater away from the basement walls. In addition, the basement needs to be sealed from the outside with a waterproof barrier and workstations need to be ergonomically correct. There also is need for more space which would be addressed in the fourth phase with the possible addition of a second story to the library and an elevator.

“I’d like to see us pursue this. I really would,” Selectman Alan McBrierty said Wednesday of the improvements. Others on the board agreed.

As such, the board voted to adopt the proposed multiyear plan Wednesday for renovation work to the library, pending the availability of funds. As part of the plan, selectmen authorized the submission of a New Century Grant of up to $50,000 for the second phase of the four-phase project. They further authorized the library trustees to sell drawings donated to the library and to use the proceeds as a local match for the grant.

The drawings, which were appraised at $80,000, were inherited by local residents who donated them to the library, according to library director Karen Chandler. Chandler told the board Wednesday that the library had retained the gifts long enough to satisfy federal requirements. The benefactors support the sale of the drawings to help the library, she said.

The first phase of the library project includes consultation with an engineer and architect at a cost of about $3,000. The second phase would be to improve access and drainage at a cost of up to $150,000, set for fall 2008 to summer 2009. The third phase would be interior improvements to enhance use of space at a cost of up $150,000, set for fall 2009 to fall 2010. The final phase would be the expansion of the library and continued ADA compliance at a cost of up to $500,000, to be done after 2010.

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