Another New Library Concept

Today (November 30) there is a public meeting to discuss the plans for a replacement building for the Highland Library.  The Highland replacement building is not new, but a remaking of an existing structure. It would be four times the size of the present library and sited a few blocks from the current downtown location, adjacent to the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, but with no sidewalks--somewhat equivalent to relocating the Pleasant Valley Free Library halfway up West Road (although I believe that there are now plans for using Recovery Act money for new sidewalks). Financing for the Highland building would have to come from a $6.6 million bond that would need approval from the voters.

Two elements of this plan strike me as relevant to our situation in Pleasant Valley--the financing and the architect.

Highland can use a 25-year bond for $6.6 million  to pay the majority of the costs for refurbishing the building because it is a School District library instead of a free association library.  Pleasant Valley does not have that option, although we could get a long-term mortgage if we had the down payment; we might need to get the voters to approve a rise in operating costs for a mortgage. Surprisingly, when the bond is spread out over 25 years, the annual cost is not terrible.  The estimate is $78 a year for a household.  Highland has raised $200,000 outside the bond that would be the equivalent of a down payment for our situation.

Of course, no plan proposed for expanding the Pleasant Valley Library comes near the projected cost of the Highland library's $6.8 million.  We are hoping to keep our cost at less than half that amount, perhaps as low as $2 million.  Mortgage rates probably will not stay as low as they are now, but let's estimate a 30-year mortgage at 5%, which would for Pleasant Valley cost each household about $50 per year.  The total expenditure could be reduced with a 15-year mortgage, but the per household rate would rise to about $75 a year, the same general amount as for Highland households.

The other facet of interest is that the architect involved in Paul Mays, one of the several architects that Pleasant Valley has been interviewing for reworking plans for our Library.  He plans to be present at the meeting this evening to answer residents' questions about the plan, which seems like a definite benefit for the library and for the town.  Mr. Mays lives north of Albany, so he is taking a substantial trip to be present.

Good luck to Highland.