PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY
PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE NEWS
The purpose of this page is to provide the public with a fair appraisal of the facts based on the information available. In cases where the newspaper article runs juxtaposed to the opinion of the Library Director and Board of Trustees you will see a highlighted box.
Library builder fights city's claims
|
PASSAIC -- Library officials have said the reason they want to close Reid Memorial Library is because structural damage to the building is too costly to repair.
Lan Associates (LAN) confirms that the data in the 2006 CDBG application came from a verbal consultation between LAN's staff and the Library staff regarding the condition of Reid Memorial Branch Library (RMLB) roof. Taken from letter from LAN 03/27/2007 In a 15 minute presentation, Library Trustee Board President Craig Miller told the audience that he felt the building is beautifulbut it is antiquated, has poor security and no parking near the building. |
But on Thursday, the architect who was hired to look at the building in October 2005 said he did not find structural damage, nor did he ever submit a cost estimate for the renovations.
After further investigation by LAN Associates, it has been determined that the building's foundation is damaged and all of the electrical and water supplies that come into the building have to be removed and reinstated after the completion of the repair of the foundation. The entire rubber roof of the Reid Memorial Branch needds to be replaced, as it has been determined to be the cause of the above-mentioned damage to the foundation, taken from 2006 CDBG application, confirmed in letter from LAN, 03/27/2007 LAN confirms that t he RMBL roof needs to be replaced and that LAN Associates provided library staff with an order of magnitude roof replacement cost estimate of $30.00 per square foot taken from letter LAN 03/27/2007 |
Library officials couldn't explain Thursday where the estimate of $155,000 came from.
"This was a preliminary observation, not a complete report about the structural condition of the building," said Peter Manouvelos of the Goshen, N.Y.-based firm LAN Associates. He said the board never approved a feasibility study of the building. When he tried to clarify to library officials that his observations were preliminary, they didn't return his repeated phone calls.
LAN wishes to point out that there is a difference between an observation and a feasability study, and there also is a difference between a "ballpark estimate" and a "price quote". This differentiation, however, does not invalidate the Library's 2006 CDBG application for replacing the Reid Memorial Branch Library roof. Taken froma letter from LAN 03/27/2007 |
Library Board of Trustees President Craig Miller cited the building's structural damage as the reason for closing it. Director Alan Bobowski applied for $155,000 in rehabilitation funds from the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program, citing LAN Associates as the source.
"After further investigation by LAN Associates, it has been determined that the building's foundation is damaged and all of the electrical and water supplies that come into the building have to be removed and reinstalled after the completion of the repair of the foundation," Bobowski wrote in the grant application. "The entire rubber roof of the Reid Memorial Branch needs to be replaced, as it has been determined to be the cause of the above-mentioned damage to the foundation."
Manouvelos said in a telephone interview on Thursday that water stains and peeling paint in the library's basement were more likely due to groundwater than a leaky roof.
LAN believes that additional damage to the foundation wall of the RMBL is most likely due to storm water runoff from the roof. Taken from letter from LAN 03/27/2007. |
"It's a maintenance issue," he said. "If you let it deteriorate long enough, you are going to get that damage."
When told of Manouvelos' comments on Thursday, Bobowski claimed that the architect was wrong, but he could not supply a copy of any estimate. On March 5, the Herald News requested a copy of the LAN Associates estimate through the Open Public Records Act. The Library Board of Trustees did not respond to the request as required by law.
Library Director Mr. Alan Bobowski said that he needed to look into the matter further but was told that the article was going to print on Friday regardless. The figure of $30.00 per square foot is a conservative estimate and the exact square footage of the roof needs to be calculated along with a detailed outline of repairs to the roof. Taken from the letter from LAN 03/27/2007. The estimate was verbal not written, so a copy could not be supplied. However, "LAN Associates (LAN) confirms that the data in the 2006 CDBG application came from a verbal consultation between LAN's staff and the library staff regarding the condition to Reid Memorial Branch Library (RMBL) roof" Taken from LAN letter 03/27/2007 A copy of the observation was requested on March 15 and provided that same day. |
"We are tracing that $150,000 statement," Miller, who is traveling in Israel, said Thursday. "We will give a full accounting of where that number came from. If a mistake was made, apologies will be offered. If it is more than a mistake, we will deal with it."
The library had applied for money through the CDBG program for two years to fix the roof. The CDBG program provides annual grants to cities and counties for projects that will benefit low- and moderate-income families. In 2005, the city, which administers the distribution of CDBG money, gave the library $56,000 for some rehabilitation of the building. In 2006, the city gave the library $20,000 of the $155,000 requested.
The library stated in its application that it was worth restoring because 12,500 predominantly Hispanic children received services at the branch in 2004. "In the event funding for expanded hours is available, this number will increase," the application stated.
Data from the 2000 Census shows that out of the 1,558 people that live in the library's immediate neighborhood, 1,425 are Hispanic or Latino. The median family income in the neighborhood is $23,712 and 206 people have access to vehicles for work.
Mayor Samuel Rivera refused to comment for this story. But his spokesman, Keith Furlong, said the decision to not fully fund the library's rehabilitation with CDBG money was not made based on race or ethnicity. Furlong said the mayor had no input into the process to close Reid.
"The library board is an independent body," Furlong said. "He (Rivera) appoints people he hopes will work hard and do a good job. They hired a director, a professional; that director made a professional recommendation to close the library."
The city has cut or flat-funded the library budget in the three years since public outcry thwarted City Council President Gary Schaer's plan to privatize it. Schaer said on Thursday the library was not on the city's list of priorities.
"Within the available money we had, it was our feeling that it wasn't an important and pressing need but rather there were even more important and pressing needs," Schaer said.
Library officials have made no further attempt to secure money for the library this year. They did not reapply for money to fix Reid in 2007 and Bobowski said that he has not applied for other grants.
The 104-year-old historic neoclassical building located on Third Street is a former bomb shelter, according to an insignia on the side of the building. The branch library holds 17,000 volumes and 8,000 children's books.
Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7100 or mandell@northjersey.com.
| Back to Article Index |