Town Meeting Presentation October 29, 2012

Randall Library Building Committee

Randall Library Building Committee• Committee Members:• Steve Dungan• Steve Jelinek• Tom Lam• Peter McManus

• Administrative Assistant:• Susan McLaughin

• Consultants:• Johnson and Roberts

Associates• Stewart Roberts• Phil O’Brien

• Tim Reed, Chairman• Jim Salvie• Barbara Wolfenden

Why Change?

• Water leaks into building during heavy rains.• Water damage to the structure requires

repairing corroded metal braces holding up the patio and rotted 2x4’s holding up the brick walls.

• Handicap access is dangerous.• Very crowded conditions on the first floor.• Only one small workroom for storage and

materials preparation.

Why Not A New Library?

• Cost would be in the 7 to 12 million dollar range.

• No available site near the center of town.• Feedback from residents indicates a very

strong desire to keep library in its current location.

• Would leave vacant existing library building.

Why Not Move to Pompo

• Move to Pompo was extensively explored.• Space requirements to receive state library

construction grant would take too much space.• Time to acquire construction grant would leave

a large section of Pompo vacant for 5 to 10 years.

• Residents want library to stay where it is.

Randall Library Needs

• Water leak remediation• Better handicap access• Additional storage and work spaces• Separate adult section with area for reading and

working• Separate young adult section with areas for

studying and tutoring• Separate children's section• Restoration of original building• Additional parking

Design Study Results

• Structural analysis of the building found the original 1892 building in pretty good shape but in need of some restoration and repair.

• Structural analysis of the 1975 addition found that that it was the kind of construction that had a useful life of about 20 to 30 years.

• The 1975 addition is in need of structural repairs.• No second floor area of the current library is

structurally capable of supporting full library book stacks.

Why Not Renovate the 1975 Addition?

• Even with a renovation, the building will eventually start leaking again.

• The quality of the construction being as it is, there will be ongoing maintenance costs.

• The 1975 addition will have to be replaced eventually.

• All library book stacks will have to remain on the first floor.

• Patrons with access issues will still have to use the street to go from the handicap parking space to the handicap entrance.

Proposed Renovation/Addition Designs

1975 addition Proposed Addition

First Floor SchemeYoung Adult

Section

Main Entrance

Director’s Office

Work Room

Librarian’s Desk

ElevatorChildren’s

Desk

Children’sSection

Second Floor Scheme Adult Book Stacks

Computer Stations

Librarian Station

Elevator

Periodicals

Meeting Room

Parking Scheme

How Does Stow Compare with Other Communities?

Boxborough12,000 sq ft

Maynard24,300 sq ft

Bolton16,945 sq ft (up from 3,100 sq ft)

Harvard

Annual municipal appropriation: Carlisle $511,586Harvard $511,238Sherborn $384,844Bolton $373,094Boxborough $298,377Stow $200,601

FTEs: Harvard 9Carlisle 7.7 Bolton 6.2Sherborn 4.8 Boxborough 4.5Stow 3.3

Stow Comparisons with Other Towns

FY11

Age 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

00-04 421 510 473 515 556

05-09 378 470 330 303 320

10-14 380 442 599 582 616

15-19 367 335 493 482 472

20-24 310 156 171 162 146

25-29 284 200 163 186 170

30-34 437 375 233 272 269

35-39 547 615 334 302 339

40-44 579 615 591 462 544

45-49 485 534 749 608 586

50-54 355 505 855 874 760

55-59 268 393 533 660 573

60-64 150 267 446 612 634

65-69 117 188 200 308 388

70-74 85 99 113 191 243

75-79 70 88 89 119 175

80-85 42 62 73 73 124

85+ 53 48 60 62 74

TOTAL 5,328 5,902 6,507 6,775 6,990

Population Projection by Age Group – Prepared by MAPC

Stow Population Projections

Renovation and Addition Proposal• Project Cost is 3.7 million dollars.• Project cost does not cover new furniture or

computers.• Over $700,000 qualifies for possible CPA

funds.• Estimated annual cost for the average

household is $75.• Tonight you are voting on just the

construction design phase of the project. The cost for this phase is $300,000.

Why Support Proposal Now?

• The 1975 addition will have to be replaced. It is just a matter of time. If it isn’t replaced there will be yearly maintenance costs which will depend on what part of the addition fails in a give year.

• The $75 per average household per year will only increase if the project is delayed. Interest rates will not get lower and construction costs will get higher.

• A four year delay will push the project costs to 4.3 million dollars.

• Allows for safe handicap access.• Eliminates water leaks.• Increases the number of computer stations.• Creates a separate adult section.• Reduces annual maintenance costs.

Restores and renovates a town icon.

Project Summary

Please Vote to Support Your Library