Great Neck Library Building Committee
Minutes of Public Feedback Meeting
April 28, 2009
Present: Andrew Greene, Committee Chair; Janet Eshaghoff, Anna Kaplan, and Martin Sokol – members of the Building Committee.
Also present: Dan Heuberger and Ernesto Vela, from DattnerArchitects, Library Director Jane Marino and Library Assistant Director, Laura Weir and Business Manager Neil Zitofsky.
Also present: Trustees Marietta DiCamillo, Josie Pizer, Varda Solomon attending as members of the public. Other members of the public attended. No sign-in sheet was available.
Subject: Public Feedback and Q&A.
The meeting was called to order at 7:45 PM.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM
After introductions from Library Director Jane B. Marino, Dan Heuberger conducted a brief overview of his firm’s work and showed some photographs of the building that detailed the impact of natural light, the borders of the natural wetlands and the extant exits and entrances.
Mr. Heuberger also showed the amount of “program space” that would be increased by Department, using abstract rectangles to represent those spaces, explaining the process he used to reach those amounts.
The issues discussed with the public included:
- Increasing the area of the Children’s Department. The increase provides adequate space for program activities and allows for the reduction of shelving height for better access and visibility. Overlapping of program spaces with other functions will be studied.
- Entrance platform and stairs as possible expansion area: Dattner will study options integrating this area as part of the expansion.
- Mezzanine accessibility and efficiency: The new building will be ADA compliant. Dattner will study raising the mezzanine floor and roof to provide flexible spaces. Upper roof would be raised a few feet and not a full story.
- Sustainable design: The design will be environmentally responsible and energy efficient. LEED certification to be determined.
- Parking: A variance for parking will be required. Dattner will evaluate requirements with the Town’s Dept. of Planning. Board will follow up on option of leasing land from Water Pollution Control District.
- Cost: Independent estimates will be prepared by the Dattner team and the Construction Management firm.
- Interim plan during construction: Board will study options for temporary sites.
- Quality of exhibition space: Better quality space will be allocated in the design.
- Levels: Maintain the existing character while looking at opportunities to connect with the Library. Storage and ADA compliance will be provided.
- Next steps: Dattner will have preliminary plans by end of June. Feedback from questionnaires will be reviewed and incorporated into design process.
All members of the public seemed interested in the project and they were urged to complete and send in the questionnaire that was made available to the public through the newsletter and the website. |
