The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
ONEIDA PUBLIC LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> Construction is going along smoothly for the new Oneida Public Library and is looking like it’ll be finished come next summer.
“There’s been no delay and the weather’s been fine since we started,” said Construction Associates owner Douglas Deeb.
Construction started on the 3.1-acre site between Main and Elizabeth streets mid-June. The new library was designed by architect Julia Marshall of Holmes, King, Kallquist and Associates of Syracuse, and will be built by Richard E. Alexander Co., Inc., as general contractor. Deeb’s job is to oversee, inspect, and review the construction of the library for the Oneida Public Library board of trustees.
The new library project started in 2008 when the library board, library staff and community members with expertise in finance and construction began investigating the need for a larger, up-to-date library facility and what a new library would offer in terms of services and community needs. Voters in the OPL’s Special Library District approved the $6.117-million New Library Project and all financing required to complete it in a referendum passed on March 3, 2015.
When asked what new features this new library will have, Library Assistant Director Tom Murray said the most needed feature will be better handicap access.
“Our current library is not handicapped accessible and is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Murray said. “It was grandfathered in, so we don’t get fined. But this new building will be completely handicapped accessible.”
Murray said the new building will be all on one floor and everything, from the rooms to the books themselves, will easily be accessible to those with disabilities.
“It’s also good for older people because the new bookshelves eliminate the bottom shelf. You don’t have to bend down,” Murray said. “And when you get arthritic, that matters.”
Among other features, the new library boasts a focus on energy efficiency. “It will meet, if not exceed
the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard,” Murray said.
The LEED standard is a green building certification program used worldwide to rate a building for things like energy savings, water efficiency, reduction of CO2 emissions and more.
Deeb said the building has been designed to be highly insulated, both for heating and cooling.
Murray added that even though the library is tripling in size, the heating bill only increases a small amount.
And with the ability to wire the whole building from scratch, Murray said the new library will have a state-of-the-art telecommunications system.
“Not only will it have wifi access for everything, but we’re also going to have fiber optic communication,” Murray said. “That will not only provide better quality reception for the internet but it will also be very fast.”
The new building will also have a much larger community room that will be self-contained and able to seat more than 100 people. The current meeting room, Murray said, seats only 35 people.
“It provides a midsize meeting space for Oneida, which it sadly lacks,” Murray said. “It will be good for library programs, of course, but also lectures. Sometimes the library has had to turn people away because we don’t have the room.”
On top of that, Murray said the larger community room can offer businesses and not-for-profits a place to hold larger meetings or training workshops.
There will be a self-contained children’s activity room and with the added room outdoors, Murray said there’s been talks of starting a library garden.
The new library has faced opposition and several delays from those in the special library district. While construction is finally starting after around 10 years, the delay has caused some issues.
“Because of the delay, the cost of materials has gone up. And we had an aluminum and steel tariff, which raised the price of structural steel,” Murray said. “So, when the building went out to bid, the bid we got exceeded our budget.”
Bound to the $6.117 million budget, Murray said the library board decided to have the library architect look through the drawing and find areas that could be cut, such as using cheaper materials or cutting certain amenities.
Among things that were cut was around $160,000 for new furniture. The new library was originally planned to have all new furniture, Murray said. Instead, the old furniture from the library will be moved to the new location after construction is finished.
Deeb is confident a majority of construction on the structure itself will be done before winter hits. As of writing, work is going forward on the footer of the building and concrete will be placed by Friday.
“This coming Friday, weather permitting, we’re looking to pour 68 yards of concrete for the footer,” Deeb said. “Then we’ll start putting in the forms and start building the wall. “If you were to drive by a week from today, you’ll probably see the walls up. In another week, you’ll see it all compacted and the building starting to come out of the ground.”
After finishing and furnishing the new building, the Oneida Public Library will move into its new facility in early August 2020.