PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY
PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE NEWS
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Official: Money available for Reid
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PASSAIC -- More than enough money to rehabilitate the Reid Memorial Library is sitting unexpended in city coffers, said Councilman Daniel Schwartz.
At a City Council meeting last week, Schwartz said that the $150,000 the library board said it needs to rehabilitate the Reid Library could come from federal Community Development Block Grant funds that have been assigned, but unspent, since 2002.
In an e-mail clarifying his remarks on Monday, Schwartz said, "There was unanimous consensus among the City Council to provide funding for the Reid Library so that the Library Board would be able to make a determination as to Reid's future based on its own merits, rather than a lack of funding," he said.
The councilman's remarks were made after six children from The Learning Center came to City Hall with posters protesting the library board's plan to shutter the children's library. Barely tall enough to reach the microphone, they spoke passionately against the shutdown.
"We need the Reid," said 12-year-old Alberto Jimenez. "The books, the resources, the history in it. We are standing here together to save the Reid."
"Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of money. The issue is what gets funded and what doesn't," said City Council President Gary Schaer.
Library officials will convene a special meeting this Sunday for public comment on the library oard plan to shutter the 104-year-old neoclassical building on Third Street. The board has argued that structural damage to the building is too costly to repair.
The library primarily serves low-income immigrant children, who live on the city's Eastside.Schwartz said the council was prepared to appropriate $150,000 in new CDBG money for the library building repairs but that was unnecessary because of residual CDGB funds from previous years.
Since 2002, both the Julius Forstmann main branch and the Reid have received $341,489in CDBG money, which provides annual federal grants to cities and counties for projects that will benefit low- and moderate-income families.
Approximately $200,000 of CDBG allocations to the library system has been unspent, according to the city's Community Development Office.
Library officials said Monday they did not know there were uncommitted funds available to rehabilitate Reid.
"This whole thing comes as a surprise to me," said Director Alan Bobowski.
He said most of the funds are already committed to a $161,365 project to repair the Forstmann roof, a project now under way.
He said $76,000 in CDBG money allocated to Reid repairs in prior years has not been spentbecause an architectural consultant told library officials not to proceed with repairs until the roof was replaced.
Bobowski said that to rehabilitate the Reid, money would have to be taken from the Forstmann.
"It's a question of priorities ... we don't have money to do both," he said.
But at the council meeting, 12-year-old Carlos Vasquez said some things are more important than money.
"I feel strongly we shouldn't close the library. It's a very important resource for kids that don't have computers," he said.
Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7107 or mandell@northjersey.com.