New Canaan officials mull library’s fate

NEW CANAAN — Town Councilmen said they already took a vote in 2020 that was inconsistent with a memorandum of understanding forged recently to outline the relationship between the town and the privately owned library.

The New Canaan Library expects to break ground in June on a new 40,000-square-foot building.

The library has not signed the MOU, with the main sticking point being a clause that deals with the preservation of the 1913 library. The old library is expected to remain standing until the new one is complete, both at 151 Main St.

After plans for underground parking fell through, making the library dependent on the town for parking, and since the town is being asked to pitch in $10 million toward the estimated $35 million project, selectmen thought the town had some leverage.

After inserting the clause, which the library had not previously seen in the MOU, the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed on the document on Feb. 23, the day before Town Council took it up.

The clause states: “If by the time of completion of the new library building, a viable and funded plan for preservation of the 1913 building has been presented to the commission for approval, then the library will incorporate the preservation of the 1913 building into the building project.”

Some Town Council members recalled a vote taken March 24, 2020 that they and library official think settles the issue already.

“It’s like Groundhog Day. That’s what gets me crazy. We are literally having the same conversation since we last voted,” Councilman Steve Karl said, speaking of a decision named after Councilman Tom Butterworth who proposed it.

“The MOU has changed significantly since we last voted. It is just not true, so it is not Groundhog Day at all,” Chairman John Engel said and pointed out there will be more public meetings held to discuss the issue.

Last year, Butterworth made a motion saying: “That the Town Council shall not approve a contribution to the cost of building a new library until the town has been granted a one-year option to purchase, for $1, the parcel of land on which the original 1913 library building is situated,” according to the minutes of March 24, 2020.

Since the voted failed 10-2, “you could infer from that vote that the Town Council was signaling its support of $10 million contribution without strings,” Engel said.

“The Town Council voted 10-2 against that proposal, paving the way for the library to proceed from its concept plans. We therefore entered into a significant and very large contract to undertake the work of designing the new library and library green,” said Lisa Oldham, executive director of the library.

The plans calls for a green space where the old library now stands.

“I think the MOU in its current form does not represent what we voted on last year and I think we need to move to some point to amend it. I’d be happy to do a special meeting or something, but this is frustrating,” Councilman Mark Gryzmski said.

Moynihan explained his logic for the new proposal, saying “the Board of Selectmen could not be the ones to decide what to do with the 1913 library building. So we put in a provision that simply puts it forward to the other bodies,” Moynihan said.

He expects it to go in front of the Board of Finance, Town Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

“I think there is a number of people in town who would like to see that building preserved. I can’t predict how that is going to happen,” Moynihan said.

Though preservationists say they wish to preserve the 1913 library, a large part of it has already been demolished, and the remaining structure is actually made up of sections added in 1933 and 1979.

Karl does not believe the library officials wish to compromise. “I don’t think there is any appetite in keeping the (old) building where it is,” he said.

“The library has said for over a year that it is very happy to work with a group or an individual who would remove the remnants of the original structure to a new location after the new library is built,” Oldham said.

Councilmen said they did not want progress held up, since the library expects to break ground in June.

Grzymski said he fears “disenfranchising the volunteers that are doing amazing things there. We are probably hurting the generosity of many residents if we are continuing to punt.”

Karl raised concerns about the “potential escalation of cost of steel and lumber and it is a risk that we are going through on a weekly, if not daily basis. along with potential interest rates as rising as well.”

“Several construction industry firms who have deep knowledge of the building industry and who are currently bidding out other projects, have told us that there is an expectation that there is significant risk. Equally there is uncertainty about interest rate rises,” Oldham said.

Engel said that no one wants this process to linger on and that the council has a lot of work to do..

“The library is New Canaan and New Canaan is the library and the town and the library are working hand and hand on this. It is a huge project it is going to take everybody to work together,” Karl said.