By ERIN ROLL
roll@montclairlocal.news
The Montclair Public Library board of trustees is putting together a list of needed repairs at its two locations.
At a library board meeting on Monday evening, trustees heard a presentation from Roger Morse and Steve Lattanzio of Morse Associates, outlining a series of repairs that need to be done at the main branch on South Fullerton Avenue and the Bellevue Avenue branch.
The main branch was built in 1955 and expanded in 1996. The Bellevue Avenue branch was built in 1914.
The issues at the main library include leaks in the north and east walls and in the library’s “tower,” some buckling and tearing in the roof material, a sagging walkway near the side entrance and problems with the roof drainage system leading down to the street.
At the Bellevue Avenue branch, the library is already in the process of having the windows repaired. The window panes have been removed from their frames and taken to Delltech’s workshop in Trenton for restoration, while the frames are being restored on-site. The work is expected to take about six to nine months, Library Director Peter Coyl said.
Other work that needs to be done at Bellevue includes repairing water-damaged exterior masonry, repairing the outside stairs and fixing water-damaged paint and plaster in the stacks area and the reading room.
Board member Frank Lawatsch noted that the Bellevue library was built prior to the advent of air conditioning. When air-conditioning was installed, the unit was put into a small space between the roof and the ceiling, he said. The unit creates condensation around the ducts, which he said might account for some of the water damage.
Lawatsch noted that maintaining historical buildings is difficult, since the skill sets that were used at the time of construction aren’t around anymore, and that many historic buildings were built with materials that are no longer manufactured.
Coyl told the audience and the board that the library wasn’t going to be taking any votes on the repairs that evening; rather, the presentation was just to lay out the different projects that need to be done, as well as possible solutions for each of them.
“This is deferred maintenance and problems that haven’t been fixed along the way,” he said.
After the meeting, Coyl said the repair work at the main library, not including some electrical wiring work, is currently estimated to cost $204,000. The Bellevue repairs, not including the window project, are estimated to cost $236,000.
When asked about a timeline, Coyl said the library board has to officially determine the scope of the repairs and the exact costs, and then work on where the funding for the projects will come from.
“Maintenance of buildings is a complicated and expensive thing,” Coyl said after the meeting. “It eventually gets to the point where they need to be done.”