10 Things to Know About the Proposed Library

The question of whether to build a new library will once again come before voters at the May 9 Town Meeting.

Voters will be asked to approve a conceptual design for the library. No dollar amount is requested yet.

Voters will also decide whether to rescind a previously approved purchase of property adjacent to the library. If this vote is approved and the land purchase is rescinded, the library expansion will be off the table, at least in its current form.

Selectmen refused a request from the library Board of Trustees to remove the article rescinding the property purchase. Selectmen said no deal had been finalized for the property since Town Meeting set aside $600,000 in 2006 to buy the land.

Supporters of the library expansion made their case and answered questions Wednesday night. They said the property negotiations remain ongoing and the time to move forward is now.

They said that, even if the expansion is turned down, work will still have to be done to make the building accessible to those with disabilities.

As it now stands, “every inch is overused,’’ with double and triple uses for all areas, said Andrew Deschenes, project manager for the library expansion.

The project is also contingent on receiving a state grant of $5 million.

The project by the numbers:

Project cost: $11 million
State grant: $5 million
Total cost to town: $6 million (possibly less, depending on fund-raising)
Estimated average tax impact: $74 per year
Current size: 7,000 square feet
New size: 29,000 square feet
Year built: 1927
1927 population: 6,000
Current population: 18,000
New number of parking spaces: 76 (government-mandated)

For more information on the expansion project, visit www.graftonlibrary.org