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July 17, 2009

Move ahead on EIRC library buy

Gloucester County Times

Friday, July 10, 2009
If the Washington Township library board can acquire a suitable building and relocate the undersized Margaret E. Heggan Library on its own - without financing from the township council - the board should do so ASAP.

It's been at least 10 years since the library board began a search for a better building, only to be stymied at every turn by the council. Frankly, each council member and the mayors who have served during this period ought to be embarrassed by the delays.

An agreement on the building the library wants (the Education and Information Resource Center building on Delsea Drive) could have been signed months ago. Though some council objections may be valid, they add up in total to stalling tactics. As a result, the library board has proposed its own EIRC lease-purchase that does not rely on a township bond issue (which was to be repaid with library funds, anyway).

By state guidelines, the current library is only a third the size that a town with the township's population should have. A former warehouse in a commercial district, it lacks space for comprehensive redesign. It's drafty in winter and hot in summer. Knowing all this, the council spent the last decade dangling the prospect of several other buildings in front of the library board. In January, the council reneged on a contract for EIRC, the latest and most viable candidate.

At the time, newly elected Mayor Matt Lyons urged the council to hold off on a bond issue, suggesting a delay so a larger bond could include other purchases as well. Another excuse involved an Assembly bill (it never passed) that would have cut statutory minimum library allocations by local governments. A 90-day extension on the EIRC purchase contract then lapsed.

EIRC's location is easily accessible and highly visible. The property comes with adequate room for expansion. If Lyons or any of the council members have a better library site in mind, they need to say so now. If they want to invest in a spanking new building instead of making relatively minor renovations at EIRC, now's the time to say so and to make a commitment.

If not, the Heggan library board - with a $1.2 million surplus and an annual allocation from the township of about $1.77 million - should go ahead with its lease-purchase.

Posted by tumulty at July 17, 2009 9:50 AM

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