Raising Roofs and Cash

About 10 years ago, the Manse that houses the Pleasant Valley Free Library needed a new or refurbished roof. At that time, the Manse was thought to be the last building in the Town of Pleasant Valley that still had a slate roof. The trustees hoped to maintain the slate roof, but cost estimates for repair were far beyond anything we thought we could finance. This was before the Library had steady funding from Town taxes; we depended on whatever the Town Board could fit into their budget, which amounted to not quite enough to run the Library much less make expensive repairs on a slate roof.

After interviewing several roofers and getting bids, we decided to settle on an artificial roof that is designed to look like slate (although in my opinion it does not do this very well). Senator Saland obtained a member item of $12,000 from the State for the project, and with that and some Library funds we got the new roof.

This ancient history came to mind as I read today about how Rosendale Library faced and resolved the same issue. They too have a slate roof that dates from 1876. Needed repairs, using slate from the same quarry in Vermont, cost $136,000 (nearly twice what the Pleasant Valley Free Library budget was the year we faced the roof-repair issue).

How did Rosendale manage? First, they got a commitment from the State education department to match $68,000 if they could raise that much. Their State Senator also came through with a member item, this one for $25,000. Donations for the roof project brought in $26,000. The Library had enough available funds from interest on its endowment to complete the match.

Today the Pleasant Valley Free Library is engaged in a bigger project than a new roof. We need to add space to the Manse so that we can house more books, other materials, and computers as well as provide a larger and more accessible meeting room for the town. The Rosendale example appears to me to be a good guide as to how to go about it. We need to look for some larger funding and it may come from an unexpected source--I would never have thought that the State education department would help fund a slate roof, for example. We need to seek public and foundation money. The appeal to local donors needs to be continued and improved. Finally, we probably are going to need to use some Library funds to finish the job. It is a major effort and has already taken years to get off the ground.