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Library hosts final hearing for public input on new facility

Date: 1/11/2011

Jan. 12, 2011

By Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Editor

WEST SPRINGFIELD — There's still time to put in your two cents on the new library.

The third and final public hearing for the new, expanded West Springfield Public Library will take place on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Final touches will then be made to the design and grant proposal in time for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners' Jan. 27 deadline, according to Toni Golinski-Foisy, library director.

"Our public presentations have gone really well. It's great to get feedback from the public and for them to understand why we have to leave the area," Golinski-Foisy explained. "We've out-grown our space ... our inadequacies are numerous. There's not enough work space for our employees; no options for technology growth; [and] we have 41 parking spaces for a 19,300 square-foot building. Those are just a few of the problems."

The new 33,000 square-foot building, equipped with 135 parking spaces, would be located at 26 2nd St., the site of Mittineague Elementary School.

If approved by the Board of Library Commissioners in July, the grant will cover approximately 53 percent of construction costs, Golinski-Foisy noted, including the demolition of Mittineague Elementary but excluding all furnishings, landscaping and paving. A $2 million capital campaign will be necessary to cover the costs, she added.

Kevin McQuillan, assistant school superintendent, noted Tatham Elementary School must be expanded prior to closing Mittineague. He said the district is currently "refreshing" its funding application with the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

"We're trying to do our due diligence with both projects," McQuillan said.

He cautioned that decreasing federal and state aid could diminish the district's hope for expanding Tatham and closing Mittineague Elementary, however. "The big elephant in the room is the coming year's operational budget," he said.

Should Mittineague be closed, Golinski-Foisy said a ground-breaking for the new library could take place in 2013.



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