PHASE 1 OF MOVING IN TO THE EXPANDED LIBRARY PLANNED FOR OCTOBER! The building is just about finished and ready to open to the public. The landscaping is just about done, with an expanded parking lot and new patios, as well as additional trees and other plantings. The new furniture, computers, and shelving are being moved in. Brand new state of the art HVAC and internet systems are running.
One major issue is delaying completion of the project: the lack of an elevator. The General Contractor, in consultation with our project manager, has moved forward with a new elevator company after problems arose with the original elevator subcontractor. It has been decided by the Library Trustees for the library to only occupy and operate from the first floor in the renovated and expanded facilities, until the elevator has been installed and passes inspection. Therefore the library in this Phase One of opening would be accessible to all staff and patrons.
This phase will include: 1) a portion of the adult and teen collections, two meeting tables, two public computers, printer/copier/scanner, and three staff in the large first floor community room; 2) three public restrooms in the lobby; 3) a fully operational children’s room including a family restroom, gaming room, and sensory room; 4) full access to the lobby from the front and back doors; 5) a 27-car capacity parking lot with 2 accessible parking spots; and 6) access to public WiFi. We anticipate all construction work (minus the elevator) to be complete in early October. After that point, preparation to move into and open this new building should take an estimated 4 weeks from when the library gets a temporary certificate of occupancy from our town building inspector. This means that we may open sometime in the second half of November.
Once the elevator is complete (approximately 20 weeks) the library will transfer operations taking place in the first floor large community room to the long-term adult and teen designated areas on the second floor. After that transition the library will be fully operational and open at Phase Two (final phase), and fully accessible according to ADA code standards.