Library wins support from village for grant application

MILLERTON — Just as the town of North East had one week earlier, the village of Millerton held a public hearing for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application ideas on Monday, Sept. 15, at Village Hall. And just as with the town’s public hearing, a presentation was made on behalf of the NorthEast-Millerton Library, requesting funds for repairs and upgrades to the library building.Though Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson could not attend the meeting, she sent others to speak on her behalf. Webutuck teacher and library patron Regina McCoy was among those doing so.“The Community Development Block Grant we need is for a new roof,” she said, indicating that was just the beginning. “We did get a bunch of estimates; Sea Gull Roofing was for $32,400.“We also need new supports in the basement … and we’re hoping to get the doors handicap accessible,” she added. “One set of doors with a push button could be $20,000, if we replace the doors.”McCoy told the Village Board that the library has been fundraising on its own. So far it’s collected $22,000 — not nearly enough money to accomplish everything on its to-do list.She referred to a leak in the springtime that led to further roof and basement damage.“We would like to do whatever is necessary to go for the grant,” she told the board.Craig Wickwire, also representing the library, said that the “foundation is creating problems” and would require “additional repairs.”“Last year there were 37,000 visits to the library, people using everything from the Internet to books,” said McCoy. “I use the library all the time. It’s a cause we definitely believe in.”“Would it help [the grant application] if the school gave its support?” asked Mayor Marty Markonic.“I think the library wanted to substantiate it helps a lot of families in low to moderate incomes,” said village Trustee Dave Sherman. “The other high priority is handicap accessibility. Between the two elements that would help, anything that could add to the record substantiating that [would help].”Sherman said that’s especially true now that the town of North East no longer qualifies for low- to moderate-income eligibility, according to county ranking.“We have limited time, so we’re really talking about something that needs to be done in the next couple of weeks,” added Sherman regarding the grant application, suggesting that if hard quotes aren’t available for some of the work, estimates will have to suffice.Others suggested the library put as much into the grant application as possible — from the structural work to as many handicap accessibility upgrades as possible.“That was something that was a pipe-dream,” said McCoy, referring to the suggestion that the library’s Annex also be brought into ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance. “But we try to do as many things as we can there: free lunch in the summers, concerts, lots of activities.”Village engineer Ray Jurkowski was present at the meeting; he said he plans on taking a look at the library building to assess what must be done to make it structurally sound. Markonic said there’s little point in replacing doors if the foundation is unstable. The town also requested Jurkowski look at the building.Before closing the public hearing, the mayor asked if there were any other suggestions for the block grant application. Nancy Davis-Vialpando suggested sidewalks.“The reason why it might not be a good idea is because we’ve been awarded money and haven’t spent that yet because of other things we want to do,” explained Markonic, noting the village was waiting to do sidewalk work until it could move forward with plans to bury utility lines on Main Street. “What happens if someone falls?” asked resident DeLora Brooks from the audience. “I live here but I don’t think outsiders are going to be so nice. We should flag it, close it, mark it as a hazard or fix it.”“Is this related to the block grants?” asked the mayor.“I don’t know politically how to achieve [a solution],” said Brooks. “But it’s cheaper in the long run to fix [sidewalks] then to kick the can down the road.”“It’s going to be done next year whether the lines get buried or not,” said Markonic. Another resident, Ellen Turner, said she fell on the broken-down sidewalks, hurt her shoulder and twisted an ankle.Markonic listened and repeated that the work will get done, but said he couldn’t give a time line. He also said he doesn’t like to close sidewalks.“Sidewalks are a problem for every village in America,” he said. “It’s definitely an issue. We’ve got Barton Street done. If we wanted to do them all at once it would be millions of millions of dollars. We’ve been getting grants. Barton and Fish street were grants.”Markonic continued to state that if sidewalks are impassable they can always be fixed quickly with blacktop until permanently repaired.“It’s walkable; it’s comfortable,” he said of the blacktop solution.But Brooks called the sidewalks a “hazard” and said the village’s response “is not working any more.”The conversation meandered to speeding cars and dirty sidewalks, before Markonic brought it back to focus on the block grant. The public hearing was then closed. He then shared his thoughts.“My opinion is to help the library out, because I really do not think any other avenue will be granted,” said the mayor. “And if we go in with the town we might have a better chance. If we get support from the school it could be even better.”Jurkowski said he would check out the building with an eye toward the limitations set by the CDBG application.A motion was then passed to apply for the library repairs for the upcoming block grant, in cooperation with the town of North East. It passed with unanimous approval (Trustee Debbie Middlebrook was absent).