By Andrew Coen
Proponents of expanding the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence are intensifying an already all-out effort to convince the District 15 school board to set aside 100 feet of the Number One School property for the library.
Library officials and supporters attended the Nov. 16 school board meeting to blitz the board with their concerns and urge it to consider their needs when it decides to either lease or sell the school property.
Library officials have been trying for years to convince the school board to set aside 12 to 15 feet for a separate entrance and exit to the library driveway. Since the school board closed the Number One School in late June, library supporters have been lobbying to obtain .6 acres - 100 feet by 250 feet - of the 3.6-acre school property to expand library facilities. The school board voted to close the school and move the students to the Number Six School in Woodmere as part of a consolidation plan that will save the district roughly $900,000 a year, according to district officials.
Former library president Michael Fried said that since the Number One School is no longer in operation, the argument that the school district could not relinquish required playground space is no longer valid. "Now that the State Education Department requirements are no longer at issue, it is time for the school board to allow the library to use the requested land to serve the community," said Fried.
Assistant Library Director Joan Lepelstat told the board that with about 34,000 patrons now attending the library, and 14,000 registered cardholders, the library is in need of the extra space. "We are bursting at the seams and not able to accommodate our patrons efficiently or appropriately," said Lepelstat. "The library's one-lane driveway is a disgrace to this community, and the library building itself is inadequate and, frankly, shabby."
"That library was out of date when it was first completed," said Arnie Rosenbaum, who serves on the Lawrence Association's Library Committee. "This situation has to be corrected, and corrected soon. If you don't do it, you're not doing your job."
Library President Joseph Fuller said that satisfying the facility's needs would be an important step in reclaiming the community's faith in the school board. "You need the community on your side," Fuller told the board.
School board member Anthony Licatesi said he also felt that the library's concerns should be addressed, but he was upset at the tone of some of the speakers, interpreting it as a threat to sink the school budget if the library does not get the land. "To me, it was a threat: 'Unless we get this, you will not get a budget passed.' I say that deserves a big shame on you," said Licatesi, drawing outrage from library supporters in the audience, who claimed they never said anything to that effect. "That's how it came across from this side, and we sit here and we try to do a job for our children, and the children really do need a budget."
Trustee Dr. David Sussman did not see the library supporters' comments as a threat. "What I heard is that you want to work with us, and I can only speak for myself, that we want to work with you," said Sussman.
Trustee Dr. Asher Mansdorf, a member of the school board's library committee, along with trustees Rose Harris and Pam Greenbaum, said that while finding a resolution to the library's lack of space is important, the board must learn, from the appraiser it hired, the worth of the property with and without the 100 feet. "I think it's important for the entire community to know what that property is worth," Mansdorf said. He added that appraisal of the Number One School property would be completed in another five weeks.
District 15 Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons addressed the library issue at the Lawrence Association meeting the following night, explaining the challenge the board faces in meeting the needs of the library while also generating the necessary revenue from the property to deal with the district's financial problems. The school board "wants to work closely with the library in resolving the situation, but on the other hand, they can't ignore the fact that we're in the second year of a contingency budget," said Fitzsimons.
He explained that the appraisal would determine the worth of the entire Number One School property, and the property minus the 100 feet. "The board has to establish value, and I think it's important for the trustees to understand how much the land is worth relative to the entire package," said Fitzsimons. "We have to follow some rather strict procedures from a legal point of view."
In addition to the many library supporters who attended the Nov. 16 meeting to make their case to the board, the Community Action Committee for the Peninsula Public Library, which was established in August by Lawrence resident Ron Goldman to assist in acquiring the requested land, continues to press on. The group has grown from five to 20 member organizations, Goldman said.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
