Next Chapter Begins for the Library

Members of the newly formed Building and Planning Committee reached at least one consensus at their inaugural meeting tonight: They face a challenging job.

The board was formed to oversee to completion the renovation and expansion of the library.

Grafton voters in December soundly defeated a proposed $11.7 million library expansion project. A state grant of $5.1 million was awarded in July toward the project. That grant remains available through June 30.

“The hardest part is to get something that will get approval to be built,’’ said committee member David Robbins.

A key issue will be the work and cost required to make the building fully accessible to those with disabilities, board members said.

This work is not optional, board members said. The state Architectural Access Board has cited the library for several issues, including the lack of handicapped accessible bathrooms, inadequate exit widths and lack of access to all levels of the building.

The town could be fined $4,000 a day by the board for its failure to remedy these issues, although these fines are generally not issued if the town shows it is seeking a solution.

Making the needed fixes could reduce the amount of space for collections by 30 percent and could cost a significant amount of money, board member Tim Fitzpatrick said.

“Old buildings are very expensive to bring up to code,’’ he said. “We have no idea what it will take to bring the library up to code.’’

Another obstacle, Robbins said, was that the bookstacks are constructed to buttress the building. This makes them difficult, if not impossible, to reconfigure.

Board members expressed interest in having a study done of the building’s infrastructure.

“We’re looking to spend the taxpayers’ money as effectively as we can,’’ Robbins said. “We need to fully understand the condition of the building.’’

In addition to Robbins, who represents the Planning Board, and Fitzpatrick, who is a member at large, the board members are: Douglas Bowman, representing the Board of Library Trustees; Andrew Deschenes, member at large, Julie Grace, member at large; Brook Padgett, representing the Board of Selectmen; John Stephens, representing the Historic District Commission, and Carroll Westgate, member at large.