Solution to Old Library Could Lie in Restoration

What Weston will do with the Old Library on the corner of Boston Post Road and School Street will ultimately be left up to the voters at Town Meeting.

Proposed plans and ideas have ranged from completely tearing the building down to restoring it to its former glory and keeping it for the town as a keystone of the town common.

The Permanent Building Committee suggested to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night that, whatever may happen to the building, the town should at least think about doing basic minimal restorations so the building is not damaged by water and weather like this winter.

"The work that's described here is a long-term fix," said Neil Levitt of the PBC.

The committee's suggested plan, which has a preliminary price tag of nearly $1 million, calls for weatherproofing the building and turning on a low heat to help keep the interior dry. 

The work would be no more than is absolutely necessary and would also not preclude any future use for the building, said Levitt. 

Speaking from the audience, Marisa Moora, co-chair of the Historical Commission, said she had been speaking with someone at The Cecil Group, an architectural firm that has been employed by the town to help come up with designs for the Old Library and the Josiah Smith Tavern.

Putting in initial money to ensure the building isn't falling down would make the sale or lease of it more attractive to potential buyers or renters, said Moora.

"It opens up the field to a lot more possibilities," she said.

While Selectman Douglas Gillespie balked at the proposed price tag, Selectman Michael Harrity stressed the importance of doing something about the building.

"It's a very important component of the character of our town green," he said.

If a decision were made at Town Meeting May to renovate the building as proposed by the PBC, Levitt conservatively estimated that the entire process, from design to construction completion, could take about 12 to 15 months.

But he said the longer the town waits to do something about the building, the more expensive and more difficult any restoration project would become.

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In addition to the meeting, which was held at the new Department of Public Works Building on Boston Post Road Bypass, the selectmen and other interested Weston residents took a tour of the new DPW Building. Check back with Weston Patch tomorrow to see some pictures from the tour.