By Mike Caputo
Last year, officials of the library, at 280 Central Ave. in Lawrence, unveiled architectural drawings for a new facility to be built in Lawrence's Zion Park, adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road station and across from Village Hall.
The original plans, presented to the village in 2005, featured a new structure that would double the size of the current one, which was built in the early 1960s.
But before any significant progress is made toward revitalization, PPL must first obtain ownership of the current library property from District 15, library officials say. "We really feel, in order to open up all our options, we would like to have the title to the building, and that is what, in fact, we requested from the school board," library board Co-President Joan Lepelstat said.
In order to receive low-cost state funding for the project from the New York State Dormitory Authority, the library must own the property. PPL petitioned the current title holders - Lawrence Public Schools - to authorize a transfer of title to the library. The Board of Education then drafted a resolution that, if passed, would set up a public referendum, which is required for such a transfer of public property. In August, the resolution was tabled by the school board for further discussion and revision.
Revisions to the resolution also require voters to decide if a price - $818,781 - should be attached to the deal. In one proposition, the library would be required to compensate District 15 with that amount if library officials later decide to sell the property. The library essentially would be paying the district back for a 12-foot land easement it received with the sale of the Number One School to New Central Realty in July. These revisions to the resolution have library trustees concerned and, they say, confused.
"I think this just confuses it by adding another option and just making the whole thing convoluted," PPL board Co-President Joel Shiff said.
The easement was granted to the library in 2005 for the purpose of constructing a much-needed driveway to allow patrons and employees to exit safely onto Central Avenue. The library currently has only a one-lane driveway for both entering and exiting the parking lot behind the building, which poses a danger. According to Shiff, the district refused to expand the driveway over the years because of its reluctance to take away any playground space from the Number One School. Plans were made for an additional driveway when the school was sold and district officials worked out an easement agreement with the buyers.
"No one was opposed to the driveway, but not at the price of taking away extra playground space from Number One School kids," Shiff explained. "As long as Number One School was functioning as a school, [the driveway] wasn't going to happen."
According to school board President Murray Forman, the $818,781 was arrived at through computations based on the purchase price of the property per foot of land that could be developed. Forman detailed District 15's reasoning behind the revisions to the resolution.
"Had we not granted the library that easement, then that is the amount of additional proceeds that would have come to the school district," Forman said, emphasizing that the $818,781 would have been added to the final $29.2 million purchase price of the Number One School.
If that price is added to the transfer of property, it may have an impact on the library's plans for facility improvement. "If we did sell it and we had to pay that 818,000, it would be a real burden," Shiff said.
Shiff and Lepelstat both mentioned the possibility of demolishing the current facility and rebuilding it on the property. But all possibilities remain speculation until the resolution is approved by the Board of Education and the public votes. A vote could be scheduled as early as November.
Until then, both library and school district officials said they will inform the public about the options. "We are going to have to educate the public as to the implications of this," Lepelstat said.
"I want the voters to understand that in the recent sale of the Number One School, the voters did approve giving the extra piece of land to the library, which did have the effect of costing the district $818,000 in the deal that closed," Forman said. "Therefore, I am asking the voters to understand that and then further decide that they wanted the library to pay that if they were ever to sell. Or to say, 'You know what? Forget it. We gave it to the library, we are happy, and we don't want to see any money.'
"That's not a decision for the Board [of Education] or for Murray Forman to make," Forman added. "That's a decision for the public to make."
Comments about this story? Call (516) 569-4000, ext. 210 or e-mail MCaputo @liherald.com.
