New Library Could Reshuffle Town Departments

In a decision that could reshuffle where major town departments are housed, the Board of Selectmen agreed to support a grant application for a new town library that requires deciding where it will be located.

Belmont Public Library Director Maureen Connors and Library Board of Trustees Chairman Matthew Lowrie met with the board Monday to discuss applying for a new round of state grants that finances new library construction.

Lowrie said Belmont, which has begun the building process of a new library, would be eligible for approximately 35 to 40 percent reimbursement of the total project cost from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

If approved, the town would receive funding in January 2012 and construction for a new library could start as early as January 2013.

The deadline for filing in this grant cycle is October 5 in which the town is required to send a letter of intent including proof of hiring an architect to create initial schematic designs.

In order to meet that deadline, Lowrie said, the town must agree on a final site for a new library. And that decision would put into motion the reshuffling of town assets.

"It has been suggested that a new library be built across the street (where the White Field House and vacant lot are located) and the existing library be renovated as the new police station," said Connors.

The Capital Projects Overview Committee recommended building the library across the street from its current location in 2007 and by the Cluster Planning Task Force in 2002.

"The Board of Library Trustees supports the idea of the new library being built across the street but there have always been questions regarding the land and we need someone to say that we can legally do that," said Lowrie.

"We need an indication that this is the direction that the Board of Selectmen would like to explore and if there is a legal reason why we can't move across the street."

The town needs to move forward and decide where buildings are going to be, said Selectman Mark Paolillo, referring to proposed plans to move the police station and Belmont Municipal Light Department.

In past discussions, the Board suggested the town could package the land now occupied by the police station and formerly by the Light Department as a single commercial property. The sale of the site could then be used to finance the construction of new town buildings.

The issue of a new location for the library begs the question if the town is going to do anything else with the north side of Concord Avenue, said Chairman Ralph Jones. He recommended that the board, School Committee and town attorney work with the Library Board of Trustees to come to an agreement on a final site for the new library.