Important: The library is legally not permitted to electioneer in any way, shape, or form. Rose Memorial Library can and will only present unbiased factual information. Information on this page will be updated as we receive new questions or as updated information becomes available.
- How much is this going to cost?
- The estimated cost for the new library building, from construction to final details such as furniture and rose bushes for the learning garden is $6.073 million. The overall ask of $1.1 million (a total of $1.425 million annually) will cover: constructing and operating a new, larger library facility at 79 East Main Street in Stony Point; rental and moving costs during the construction period; debt service; and proper operation of the town’s new library through at least 2034.
- What will that cost my family?
- When broken down, the funding request for 2025 is $0.292 total per $1,000 of full market home value for homestead parcels. Homestead homes with the full market values below, would pay the following for the library beginning in 2025 (based on current assessed values & rates)
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- $100,000 = $28.43 annually or 54 ¢ a week
- $200,000 = $56.85 annually or $1.09 a week
- $300,000 = $85.28 annually or $1.64 a week
- $400,000 = $113.71 annually or $2.18 a week
- $500,000 = $142.13 annually or $2.73 a week
- $600,000 = $170.56 annually or $3.28 a week
- $700,000 = $198.99 annually or $3.82 a week
- $800,000 = $227.41 annually or $4.37 a week
- $900,000 = 255.84 annually or $4.92 a week
- $1,000,000 = $284.27 annually or $5.46 a week
- Specific home values can be found via the 2024 Final Assessment Roll on the Town of Stony Point site at https://tinyurl.com/Stony-Point-Assessment-Roll. This funding would be collected through Town of Stony Point taxes.
- Will this make the school taxes go up?
- School taxes will not be affected by this project whatsoever.
- Why do we need a new library?
- Rose Memorial’s current building is 3,500 square feet and has not been expanded since 1967, despite the population of Stony Point almost doubling in that time and expectations of the role of a public library in a community vastly changing. Most library programs currently have waitlists or have to be held off-site, and can only be at the mercy of: weather (in the parks), our meager budget (rental space), or fit in to the narrow gaps of time when town spaces are not in use by other groups.
- How big will the new space be?
- The new library will be around 9,500 square feet of usable square feet broken up over a basement, ground level, second floor and outdoor learning garden.
- What will the building include?
- A teen room, which will be the only recreational and learning space in Stony Point dedicated exclusively to the needs and interests of teenagers. It will be staffed by a full-time teen librarian.
- A large meeting room for library programs, events, and community meetings
- Separate spaces for quiet work, group study and comfortable reading
- An all-ages experiential learning studio for programs in arts, cooking, play-based learning, science, technology, and engineering
- A local history archive
- A fenced-in garden for small programs, gathering, and reading
- A children’s room featuring an early literacy play space, cozy reading nooks, and a floor-to-ceiling view of the garden
- Study rooms for public use
- Sustainability measures to ensure maximum energy efficiency
- Why not just renovate the inside of the current building?
- Working with a team of architects and structural engineers, we looked at various options for the library. These options included expanding the library in its existing footprint, removing the ’60s addition and building a new addition, and finally taking down the existing building while saving as much original material as possible and building a new library. The structural feasibility and the long-term environmental costs were taken into consideration. Expanding the existing library by underpinning the foundation would be costly and would only provide an expanded basement space. The structure is CMU with unfilled cores with a brick veneer; adding a story would not be viable. The original 1940’s building does not have insulation in the walls or under the slab, which would be common for the period it was constructed. A cavity wall would have to be constructed inside the masonry wall to insulate the building, reducing the usable space. With these factors in mind, we looked into building a new structure on the existing site. This decision was not undertaken lightly. A costly renovation that would not provide the space to serve the needs of a growing population did not seem to be in the community’s best interest.
- How will this project benefit me if I have internet at home and am not much of a reader?
- The days of libraries as dusty, silent, repositories for books are over! Modern libraries are above and beyond centers for gathering, creating, entertainment, and learning for the whole community. They offer not only story times for children, but FREE robotics programs, fitness classes, expert-led art classes, movie nights, field trips, concerts, community gardening plots, cooking classes and more for all age ranges. The new Rose Memorial Library would have spaces for work and play, fast-wifi, and technology that might be hard to find elsewhere.
- Can the library complete this project without public funding?
- While Rose Memorial Library will be pursuing grants and accepting private donations to reduce costs, constructing and operating a new building cannot happen without public funding.
- What is the process for making this happen?
- The first step was collecting enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The petition for signatures was circulated in Stony Point by town residents in mid-July. The petition needed 25 valid signatures of registered Stony Point voters to qualify, and over 50 were acquired. The petition was submitted to the Town of Stony Point Town Clerk and she determined the necessary number of legitimate signatures was reached, and submitted the referendum request to the Rockland County Board of Elections.
- A funding proposition will now be placed before the Stony Point voters in November 2024. If a majority yes vote is received, construction will commence, pending all building permit approvals, in 2025.
- Will the request for funding be on the November 5, 2024 ballot?
- Yes.
- What will the request for funding on the ballot say?
- Ballot language is required to be written in a very specific manner. It will say:
- SHALL THE ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE TOWN OF STONY POINT FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET OF THE ROSE MEMORIAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BE INCREASED BY $1,100,000 TO THE SUM OF $1,425,000 ANNUALLY?
- Where will the request be on the ballot?
- It is Proposition Number Two on the back of the ballot.
- It is a larger building with longer opening hours and additional services. Will the library be coming back to town residents asking for increased funding as soon as the building is open?
- No, town residents will not be asked to contribute more to the library as soon as it opens. The library has worked with a financial planner to create projected staffing and operational costs for the new building, and those figures have been taken into account in the total amount requested for this project.
- Why isn’t Rose Memorial renovating and moving into an existing larger building in town?
- Rose Memorial Library has spent many years exploring all possible options for growth via ongoing conversations with patrons, community members, and staff, as well as consulting with a wide range of experts and local leaders in real estate, architecture, engineering, and politics. It has been determined that the most cost-effective and efficient action is to stay on the property that is owned by the library, take down the current building, and rebuild on the site.
- One option that was explored by Rose Memorial Library and our team of architects and engineers in 2023 was the possibility of renovating the smallest, most updated building at the former Letchworth complex. At 20,000 square feet, the building was still too large for the library’s needs and would have required a minimum of $11.6 to 15 million dollars in renovation costs, not including asbestos remediation. The Library deemed this project too expensive, especially considering that they would not own the building/property and the greater Letchworth property is falling into disrepair and its future plans are still very much up in the air.
- Can my scout troop/seniors group/non-profit use the new meeting room?
- Yes! The meeting room will be available, by reservation, for community group use.
- Is there a place to hold an interview or small business meeting?
- There will be 2 small, private study rooms available for academic or work use.
- Will the new building be ADA accessible?
- Yes. The entire building was designed to be not just ADA-accessible but ADA-welcoming.
- Will the new building have any sustainability features?
- The plans contain extensive sustainability and resiliency features, both to meet the needs our community as it addresses the challenges presented by climate change and to reduce operating costs
- What will the new project include for my teen/tween?
- The new building would feature a supervised teen space that would include a full-time teen librarian, its own set of computers, a study room, a YA collection, comfortable, welcoming spaces for hanging out, and glass doors so that teens can safely feel comfortable being themselves without disrupting more calm spaces elsewhere in the building.
- Where can we park?
- The plan allows for existing parking behind the library and along the street to remain. Based on Stony Point zoning codes, this plan would require off-street access to a maximum of 42 spaces. Aside from the parking spaces on-site, which would be reserved for handicap access, we are within a less than 3 minute walk of a 47 free municipal parking spaces. We are also pursuing strategic partnerships with nearby local entities for additional parking for special events. In addition, as this location is right in the heart of Stony Point, it is walkable or bikeable for many SP residents. Bike racks will be available.
- Will there be room for tutoring?
- Yes, the building will include rooms and areas appropriate for tutoring, small group study, business meetings, or for visitors who prefer a quiet experience.
- Has the plan been taken to the Building Department?
- We are aware the site is located in the R-1 zoning district, and that the proposed plan will require area variances as the site is preexisting non-conforming. Our first priority was presenting the plan to the full Stony Point community for feedback. Following the standard process for libraries, should the funding request on the November ballot be approved by Stony Point voters, the plan will then be taken to the Building Department and Land Use Boards to start a discussion and apply for the required variances .
- What happens if the library is unable to get the necessary variances to construct the planned building?
- The team of experts the library has been working with are confident that the proposed building and the variances it will require are not just possible, but extremely reasonable, based on precedents set within the town. However, the library has a plan should the funding request pass, and the variances be denied and compromises cannot be reached.
- As the requested amount includes operations funding, the increased funding the library receives in 2025 would immediately go towards expanding open hours, programming, general services, and the size of our eBook collection.
- Should the variances be denied, the library would then return to the ballot for a decrease in funding to an amount that would not allow for constructing a new building, but still permit Rose Memorial to operate at more appropriate levels of service for a contemporary library in a community of this size.
- The additional funds that are collected in the intermediary time between the votes would go towards making some efforts to modernize the facility, such as installing new carpet and an updated security system with cameras, and buying stable and matching furniture for the adult programming/adult fiction space.
- Where did the funding for the architects/engineers/surveyors/financial consultants that helped investigate and develop plans come from?
- The funding for the professionals the library has used to get the most accurate information on potential library growth options has not come from the library’s standard annual operating budget, but instead from a savings/investment account that has been built up over the last 25 years to either help in a time of financial emergency or support library growth initiatives. As of June 30, 2024 this account, which is currently held by UBS, was valued at $621,117.30.
- What happens if the funding increase doesn’t pass in November?
- Rose Memorial would start going on to the ballot every year for marginal increases in funding that would allow it to continue to operate. The Library is at maximum capacity with its current level of funding. Without increases in funding Rose Memorial would be required to start cutting opening hours, services, programs, and jobs beginning almost immediately.
- I have a question that wasn’t answered here. Who should I ask?
- You can reach out to Alice Meacham, Director of Rose Memorial Library, at ameacham@rcls.org with any questions.
- Can you come talk to my community group about the project?
- Sure! Reach out to Alice Meacham, Rose Memorial Library Director at ameacham@rcls.org
Last updated: October 4, 2024 at 11:56am
