Board Meeting Minutes
APPROVED 9/23/09
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
SPECIAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 – 8:00 P.M.
A special meeting of the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, in the Community Room of the Great Neck Library, 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck, NY 11023. [Agenda attached]
The following Trustees were present constituting a quorum:
Martin Sokol – President
Andrew Greene – Vice President
Janet Eshaghoff – Secretary
Marietta DiCamillo – Treasurer
Anna Kaplan – Assistant Treasurer
Varda Solomon – Assistant Treasurer
Josie Pizer
Also present: Jane B. Marino – Director
Laura Weir – Assistant Director
Neil Zitofsky – Business Manager
Kevin Seaman – Legal Counsel [present only for Executive Session]
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by President Sokol. Trustee Greene moved and Trustee Pizer seconded to go into executive session to discuss personnel matters. The Board came out of executive session at 8:05 p.m. on motion by Trustee Pizer and seconded by Trustee Kaplan.
The public meeting was convened at 8:10 p.m. President Sokol apologized for inconveniencing members of the public for the late start of the open meeting due to important issues being discussed during the executive session that went beyond the time expected.
The purpose of this meeting was for the Trustees to discuss among themselves the schematic plans drawn up by the architect and costed out by the construction manager.
President Sokol asked for the discussion to be confined to the Trustees and after which the public will be allowed to speak.
Trustee Greene, chair of the Building Committee, commended the architect for the good job done in drawing up the three proposed designs after staff and public input. He briefly described the three proposed designs: Option A calls for gutting and renovating the building at a cost of $13,735,502. Option B is an addition of 13,000 sq ft with flexibility for future usage which would cost $23,253,503. Option C is a modest expansion of 9,000 sq ft that would cost $21,300,420. Soft costs are not included. [Schematic drawings of these proposed designs were displayed in the back of the room for public viewing.]
Trustee DiCamillo asked for a reconciliation of the numbers which she said did not add up – how did they arrive at 67,000 sq ft, 14,000 of which was unaccountable for. She believed that 67,000 sq ft is too big a building for this lot. She is in favor of a modest expansion with renovation. She was also concerned about the number of parking spaces and that there was a discrepancy in the number of trees that would be removed. She would like a listing of square footage identifying the square footage allocated for each department. Trustee DiCamillo pointed out that the money being spent on this project is out of line with what other libraries like Manhasset, and the Bronx Library Center spent on their building project. She stated that one staff member expressed concern that there is a lot of staff input while public input and support are missing. The Board, instead of doing a mailer to the residents, did bookmarks. The Library Director explained that the cost of a mailer was too expensive. Trustee DiCamillo insisted that some expense like mailing postcards to inform the public should be done.
Director Jane Marino pointed out that Option B is not staff driven. Staff was interviewed and surveys were sent out to the public and their comments were given to the architect.
Trustee Pizer referred to page 17 of the document that 19 trees would be removed. She would like to see the first floor (lower level) expanded to the full footprint with less overhang of the main level. She supports a usable mezzanine. She suggested that the architect be asked to save the Library a further $5 million without limiting the amenities and without taking away from the concept of Option B. She also suggested that maybe instead of copper, beautiful stones could be used without sacrificing ‘green’ material.
Trustee Kaplan said that Dattner went beyond what they had to do. If there is no addition, we would be shorting this beautiful community. The building needs to be done correctly or not correctly.
Trustee Solomon also agreed that the numbers need to be lowered and that the focus should be Option B which will last for quite a while.
Trustee Eshaghoff agreed that we should look to the future for younger population and the architect should be asked to knock off $5 million.
Trustee Pizer gave an overview of each plan for the benefit of those attending. Option A remains as is but will be gutted and renovated. We will loose 3 - 5,000 sq ft. Once the building is renovated, it has to be ADA compliant and this will limit the usable space. Option C expands the north and east of the building and removes the mezzanine, which would be lost for collection. Option B would expand the second floor and raise the mezzanine 5 ft as a viable third floor for programming.
A member of the public asked what would be the additional taxes for each plan. Business Manager Zitofsky indicated that for a home assessed at $1 million market value, additional library taxes on a $15 million bond would be $52-66 a year; for $20 million bond $69-88, and for $25 million bond the taxes would be $86.50-$109.50 a year.
Below are some of the concerns addressed by members of the public:
- Rename the plans: Option A the smallest, Option B medium, and Option C the largest.
- More public involvement
- Copper exterior losing its shine due to location near water
- Seek variances before spending any money
- Use less expensive materials or existing stones
- Raising of taxes
- Trustees’ commitment not only to ‘go green’ but for the building to be fire safety compliant
- Population in the south increasing while the north is decreasing; larger population using branches. So more space should depend on whether there is a population increase.
- Closing the Library for 2 years
When asked what is the cost per square foot for new construction for each plan, Trustee Greene indicated that Option A (47,125 sq ft) would cost $197.59 per sq ft; Option B (60,085 sq ft) would cost $261.69 per sq ft and Option C (56,970 sq ft) would cost $247.60 per sq ft.
Public Comments: Emanuel Kline, Naomi Penner, Shirley Samansky, Leslie Kahn, Stanley Dacher, Robert Welner, Mayor Leonard Samansky, Bradley Diamond, Amy Levisnon, Jean Pierce, Barbara Zeller, Shelley Sobel, William Morrill Elizabeth Allen, Hanna Packer, Ellen Conovitz, David Zielenziger, Corinne Coe, Stanley Seroka, Mike Currie, Rebecca Gilliar, Ralene Adler, Stu Hochran, Karen Rubin, Marianna Wohlgemuth, Norman Rutta, Jo Ann Farley
ADJOURNMENT
Trustee DiCamillo moved and Trustee Greene seconded for the meeting to be adjourned. The meeting was adjourned at 11:03 p.m. The next meeting will be September 23, 2009.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Eshaghoff
Secretary, Board of Trustees
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