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June 21, 2009

Renovation next chapter for Cape May library

County will fund about 80 percent of project's cost

By RICHARD DEGENER, Staff Writer, 609-463-6711 | Posted: Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Cape May Library will undergo renovations with include replacing the roof, exterior doors and shutters, new carpeting, lighting and ceiling tiles, plus landscaping and new railings. Friday June 19, 2009. (Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City)

.. CAPE MAY - Ralph Bakley admitted he wasn't exactly a bookworm back in high school when the library was in the basement of present-day City Hall.

"You could go grab a book, go to a corner somewhere and grab a little snooze," said Bakley, drawing laughs at a City Council meeting this week.

But Bakley made good with a long and distinguished law-enforcement career before becoming a member of the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Bakley returned to Cape May on Tuesday night with some good news for book lovers. There will be a major renovation to the library at the corner of Hughes and Ocean streets, which replaced the facility in City Hall, which used to be Cape May High School, and the county will pay for much of it.

He said it will be started in October.

"There's been a lot of criticism about delays, but when completed it will be a beautiful structure," Bakley said.

The project is estimated to cost $507,800, but construction bids have not yet been received. Bid proposals are due July 15.

It was announced Tuesday by Bakley, library director Debbie Poillon and city officials. The city owns the building but leases it to the Cape May County Library Commission to operate as one of its branches.

Bakley said the county will pay an estimated $395,300 of the project, or 78 percent, with the city picking up the remainder.

Poillon said the project includes a new roof, new exterior doors and shutters. The entire interior and exterior will be painted. Plans also call for new drop ceilings, lighting and electrical work, carpeting and furniture. There also will be outside landscaping including a new drip-irrigation system, sidewalks, railings and shrubbery.

Bathrooms will be upgraded for compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The renovations may also cost a bit of book space because the library currently does not meet ADA rules regarding the spacing between book shelves, Poillon noted.

"We lose some shelving," she said.

Poillon said the library will be closed for four to six weeks during the project.

"We'll get the bookmobile down here once a week. Lower Township and Wildwood Crest (branches) are not too far," Poillon said.

Library renovations

The project, which is estimated to cost more than $500,000,

Posted by tumulty at June 21, 2009 2:00 PM

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