Submitted by Rick Kinsella, Secretary for OPL Board of Trustees
(Oneida, NY – Oct. 24, 2015) The Oneida Public Library (OPL) Board of Trustees President, Patricia Albaugh announced that bids are being sought from contractors within the local and surrounding towns to begin site preparation at the Main/Elizabeth Street location. The first phase of the $6.12 Million project is expected to begin later this fall and be completed early in 2016.
Albaugh stated that she “will be very pleased to see shovels in the ground after seven years of study and planning.” She noted that several thousands of hours involving community volunteers and officials, library trustees and staff, and professionals in library design and construction are finally coming to fruition.
“We could not have done this without the strong support and generosity of the community,” said OPL Director Carolyn Gerakopoulos.
OPL has raised more than $2.4 million dollars in grants, bequests, donations and pledges towards the construction of the new facility. The remaining construction expenses for the project will be paid by a loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The OPL Trustees decided to begin construction now in order to be able to save several grants that are time sensitive. A 2012 New York Library Construction grant in the amount of $76,233 will expire at yearend unless construction starts before then.
Another grant awarded by the CNY Community Foundation in the amount of $100,000 expires at the end of March 2016 unless fully expended. Eligibility to apply for a 2015 State Library Construction grant was also dependent on beginning the project this calendar year. All together there is $473,000 that would be lost if OPL did not begin the project now.
“At the present time, we anticipate that we will only be completing the site preparation for the project. This will preserve the grants and keep the future expenses lower,” said Albaugh.
The subsequent phases of construction will begin as soon as OPL and the municipalities in the OPL District have completed the required bonding agreements. The integrity of the site preparation work is expected to withstand any delay that can be anticipated for the project.