Where Do We Go From Here?

Community Planning Meeting
Tuftonboro Free Library
April 14, 2007
10:00 a.m. - Noon

           Plans for a new library having been defeated by a vote of 333 to 196 at Town Meeting 2007, various members of the community and the librarians and library trustees met on Saturday, April 14^th, to discuss the future direction of the library. Trustee Chair Carolyn Sundquist started the meeting by listing some possibilities for future use of the existing building. It was noted that many townspeople didn’t understand why the trustees were committed to a new building instead of the addition that they thought they authorized at the 2006 Town Meeting. We need to make this decision more clearly understood before next year’s meeting.            

            At the time the plans for the addition to the existing library were drawn up, there had been no wetlands survey done of the area. After the 2006 Town Meeting the trustees used some of the authorized money to hire North Country Soil Services to delineate the wetlands.  It was discovered that in addition to the wetlands known to be on both sides of the building which dictated that the expansion be toward the back, there were also two wetland areas directly behind the library which precluded any addition there.

             Adding a second story to the current building has the disadvantage of being the most expensive way to expand, and we don’t know if the bearing walls are adequate. A second floor also brings up ADA (elevator), plumbing, maintenance, supervision and line-of-sight problems.  Total library space would still be inadequate (less than 8,000 sq. ft.), and so would parking, and the library would have to close during construction.

            Since there is only a +/- $400,000 cost difference between an addition and a totally new building and we would then have the old building to use for another community need, the trustees decided to support the building of a new library.

            The Selectmen will be appointing a Capital Improvement Committee to study future town projects and priorities, but since that will take a while to get up and running, we are proactively looking at options for the old building now. The building, once vacated, will no longer be under the Trustees’ control or supervision. We will make a proposal to the Selectmen, and the decision ultimately rests with the voters.  The following possible options have been suggested to TFL staff over the past year:

            1. Community Center

            2.  Day Care Center

            3.  Nursery School

            4.  Police Station

            5.  Post Office

            6.  Selectmen sell the building

            The first three options could be a combined use, and the last one was rejected as contrary to the idea of keeping centrally located property within the Town’s control. Meeting attendees felt that residents would not like to have their post offices centralized at this time. This leaves 2 options: the community center/day care/nursery school  and the police station. A community center like Ossipee’s or Sandwich’s could be used by many groups, both during the day and evenings. Sarah Whelchel and Cindy Barnard will provide info on these existing centers. We will ask for community input on other possible uses.

            The Tuftonboro Nursery School in the Willing Worker’s Hall is thriving but has issues with parking and storage of school equipment when the hall is used for other things. Presently the school is subsidized generously by its landlord, the Melvin Village Community Church.  A move to the old library building would substantially increase the School's occupancy expense. There would, however, be little if any cost of repurposing the building in this way, and there may be alternative ways to fund their tenancy.  It was asked if perhaps the Kindergarten might move from the Tuftonboro School, but since the school board has plans to build a middle school which would siphon off the 6^th graders, there will probably not be a space crunch at the school for many years to come.

            It was noted that the fire station and police station do not really need to be in the same building, and if the police moved into the old library building they could run wires under the road to share computer resources (or use a wireless network). The equipment that both departments need to share would be close enough to get to quickly.

            It was agreed that bonding was a better method for paying for a library project than a capital reserve fund, because it shifts the cost to future taxpayers who will be using its services. Bonding would probably be for 10-15 years.  We need to make it clear in dollars exactly how much the project will impact people’s tax bills if they own a $50,000 house or a $500,000 house.

            Families with small children who are strong library supporters found it hard to attend this year’s Town Meeting, so perhaps next year we could help to provide child care or babysitting at the library or school.

            The Trustees have established a Building Team to help guide us toward a new facility. Members are:  Cindy Barnard, Dave Lee, Linda MacDonald, Lois McLean, Joyce Munsey, Mary Ann Murray, Patty Nisbet, Ruth Smith, Terry Smith, Joan Theve, Sarah Barnes Whelchel, and Barbara Widmer, along with the Trustees and Librarians.  Call the library at 569-4256 for more information on how you can help, even if you don’t want to serve on the committee.

            The meeting was positive and optimistic, although we have a lot of work ahead of us in the next year if we are to succeed in remedying Tuftonboro's increasingly inadequate library facilities. Weekly, or at least frequent press releases to the Granite State News and updates on the library Web site were recommended to keep people informed of our progress.  Minutes of this meeting will also be posted on the Town’s Web site, at the Town offices and in the library vestibule.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Robinson

Ann Robinson, Secretary

TFL Trustees

• *More room for books.* And CDs. And DVDs. And puppets. And…. Designed to hold a collection of 20,000, the building now houses more than 24,000 items. Over the past three years library staff have worked hard and creatively to make the most of the available space by weeding, shelf shifting, and weeding again, by adding over 150 linear feet of shelving, a second paperback rack, second adult and children’s AV racks, and two new DVD stands, and by moving ten full shelves of adult fiction to the meeting room. It’s not enough. We’re out of room again, and we’ve about run out of options for utilizing existing space to accommodate the growing collection without degrading or eliminating other services.
• *More room for computers.* And their many users! Even with three dedicated public access computer stations, patrons must often wait to get online, especially during the summer months. WiFi users have no wait, but they often have no place to sit except the floor, and no place to plug in without trailing extension cords across walkways.
• *More room for programs. *The meeting room was originally designed to seat 50 adults, but now with bookshelves on two walls even 40 chairs is an uncomfortable crunch. And although kids generally sit on the floor for programs, we can no longer safely accommodate the 60-80 we routinely expect for special events like the Polar Express and Summer Reading Programs. Last year for the first time we had to require tickets to limit program attendance. Unfortunately, this practice must continue.
• *More room for staff.* Counter space is at a premium in the workroom, and there’s absolutely no room for a computer station there, so most materials processing actually gets done out at the circulation desk. The small refrigerator and microwave for staff and program use are stacked up at the back of the only closet. Staff members hang their coats in the public hallway outside the restrooms, and take breaks and eat meals in the meeting room, without any privacy.
• *More room for storage.* The library’s solitary closet is bursting at the seams, jammed from floor to ceiling with program and building maintenance supplies, library records we must archive by law, and the water pump, water heater, and ventilation ducts. It is only possible to edge into the closet sideways. In violation of Town safety guidelines, the boiler room also serves as storage space for screens, signs, hoses, snow shovels, ladders, flourescent light tubes, and an interior door. The public meeting room entryway is permanently clogged with chairs, tables, and dozens of boxes of sale books. We have to move four heavy air conditioners in and out of the Town Office basement twice annually. Chairs, bulletin boards, magazine racks, and shelving that we can no longer fit anywhere in the library clutter the Scouts’ room at the Town House.
• *A NEW LIBRARY WILL PROVIDE THE ROOM THAT TFL NEEDS TO GROW WITH OUR COMMUNITY*.