TAKING SHAPE

Work progressing on $2.6 million library on East Street scheduled to open next summer

GALWAY, N.Y. >> Work is progressing rapidly on the new $2.6 million Galway Public Library that’s scheduled to open next summer.

The concrete floor is finished, the entire frame is up, and workers are busy with a variety of tasks to get the building enclosed so jobs can keep moving forward inside during the upcoming winter months.

The 5,930-square-foot building is on a 13.6-acre property on East Street, almost directly opposite St. Mary’s Church.

The new structure is more than three times larger than the current library, a former Odd Fellows Hall where more than 30,000 items are jam-packed inside its 1,800-square foot space.

The new library’s more spacious setting is expected to increase circulation and make possible a wider range of community-oriented programs for kids and adults alike. In addition to a much larger parking area, it will have a children’s room, teen area, reading area, and a 45-seat program room for meetings and events.

“The program room will

be equipped with the technology and accommodations to serve as a multifunction space,” the library website says. “The library will utilize the space for classes, arts and crafts projects, performances, art shows and displays, tutoring, meetings, discussions and forums.

“When not in use by the library, the program room will be available to the community.”

Groundbreaking for the new library was in June.

The project’s general contractor is Melrosebased Hoosick Valley Contractors Inc. Other contracts have been awarded to Burniche Piping Inc. of Waterford for plumbing, Collins Mechanical LLC of Stillwater for mechanical work and Current Electrical System Inc. for Glenville for electrical jobs.

The new building was designed by the Ballston Spabased architectural firm Butler Rowland Mays.

Voters in Galway Central School District approved bonding $1.15 million for the project in June 2017. The project will cost residents with property assessed at $200,000 an extra $34 per year.

Another $1 million has been pledged from private sources, and a multifaceted campaign focused on gifts and grants is expected to raise another $350,000.

The library purchased land for the building in 2013 from David and Katherine Michalski for $103,500.

PAUL POST PHOTO Mike Davenport, left, delivers a bundle of plywood, on Monday, to a rooftop worker at the new Galway Public Library that’s under construction on East Street, almost directly across from St. Mary’s Church.

PAUL POST PHOTO Construction worker Mike Davenport cuts a piece of wood while working at the new Galway Public Library on Monday. The $2.6 million project is scheduled for completion next summer.