Kent P&Z hears preliminary discussion of library expansion

KENT — Pre-application information for an addition to the town library was presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) by Kent Memorial Library board members at the regular P&Z meeting on Thursday, April 11.

Preliminary plans envision renovation and expansion of the existing library building to connect with the old firehouse next door.

A brief presentation by Sam Calloway of the Kent Library Association Board of Directors described conceptual ideas for renovation and expansion of the existing historic library building. Calloway is also serving as chairman of the building committee, guiding the project.

This presentation to the P&Z was designed to be informal. The coming weeks will see the roll-out of what will be an extensive community campaign. The P&Z application process for the project will begin at the next P&Z meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 9.

“The library is running out of space and the current facilities need upgrade,” said Calloway.

“Libraries have become more than book repositories,” Calloway noted, describing ways that modern library facilities provide essential services and programs vital to their patrons. Wyeth Associates of Chester, Conn. has been retained to design an expanded modern library.

Architect Leonard Wyeth made the presentation, leading the P&Z through preliminary drawings, beginning with the site as it exists now.

The site is almost flat, but there is a gentle slope, Wyeth said. The original library building dates to 1922 and the firehouse next door was built in the 1950s on the library’s land. The whole site, library and firehouse, is incorporated in the planning.

Under a proposed plan, the library will be connected to the firehouse building, allowing book stacks to be housed on the ground level of the firehouse. The apron in front of the firehouse would be retained, and the library would have a new entrance, further to the south.

With the addition of an elevator, the second floor of the firehouse could offer a large meeting space that might be available to community groups. A new tower would add architectural interest and house the elevator works.

P&Z Chair Wesley Wyrick noted that the firehouse structure is sound.

“We’re keeping all of the old firehouse,” Wyeth said.

Wyrick raised the question of finding adequate parking to augment the on-street spaces.

Wyeth indicated that photovoltaic solar roof panels could be included, and that such panels would not be visible from the street. His firm maintains a deep interest in sustainable design practices.

A fence would be added across the rear of the property to mask the railroad tracks and provide protected outdoor access for patrons’ activities.

Discussion focused on parking and concerns for protecting the area where the annual book sale is set up.

Library Director Sarah Marshall said, “We are committed to the interests of the book sale.

The P&Z supported Tai Kern’s comment that a variance would be needed from the Zoning Board of Appeals and that the town’s Architectural Review Board must be included in the process.

Wyrick added that a special permit will be needed because the firehouse is being converted to library use.

Latest News

Hotchkiss lacrosse ices Kingswood Oxford 19-0

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.

The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
HVRHS releases second quarter honor roll

FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.

Highest Honor Roll

Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Ditto

ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.

When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.

Keep ReadingShow less
Winifred Anne Carriere

SHARON — Winifred Anne Carriere passed away on March 6, 2025, at the age of 87. A resident of Sharon for many years, she later retired to Ancramdale, New York.

Born in New Haven to writers Albert Carriere and Winifred Osborn, Anne grew up in New York City. Raised in a Quaker family, she attended Friends Seminary, and The University of Wisconsin. Anne studied American Architectural History through Bard College’s University Without Walls. For her degree, she wrote a comprehensive history of the architecture of Sharon during its first hundred years.

Keep ReadingShow less