ROCKPORT, Maine — A group opposed to building a new library at the former Rockport Elementary School site has offered its own plan for expanding the existing public library.
The group, calling itself The Friends of Rockport, unveiled on Friday a preliminary plan to expand and improve the Rockport Public Library at its current downtown location.
Residents will get to make their views known at the polls with two non-binding referendums on the Nov. 4 ballot. Absentee ballots already are available at the town office.
The Select Board voted in August to place the pair of questions on the ballot.
The first question will be to ask residents whether the town should develop a plan for a new library, taking into account community input on design and budget. The second non-binding question is whether the former Rockport Elementary School site should be the primary location to be considered with the condition that the adjacent ballfields be preserved.
Jim Ruddy, a Rockport resident and member of the group opposed to the elementary school site, issued a statement Friday along with drawings of a proposed alternative plan.
Ruddy followed up Tuesday saying the proposal was a modest, common-sense approach to the need for more space. He estimated the cost of the addition proposed by the group at $500,000.
“Rockport does not need a library several times larger than its current size. With predicted population increases of only 15 people per year, which is less than one half of one percent per year, for the next 20 years, why are we planning such a large and expensive facility?” Ruddy asked.
He pointed out that residents voted last year to change the zoning at the current library property to allow for an expansion.
Bill Leone, another member of the group, also issued a statement on Friday.
“Moving the Library out of the center of the village is a terrible mistake. It would change the character and damage the integrity of our downtown area. Rockport is one of the loveliest and most desirable villages on the coast. Why would we want to remove one of its most important and vital assets?” Leone asked.
Approximately 90 people turned out to speak about the library at past meetings and have been sharply divided about the location.
The library’s steering committee held a series of meetings throughout the town earlier this year to garner input on what residents want for a new library. The committee issued a report in June, recommending a new library be built at the former Rockport Elementary School property owned by the town.
The committee indicated in its recommendation a new building should be at least 10,000 square feet and estimated 14,000 square feet would be needed in the foreseeable future. The existing library covers 3,324 square feet.
The former school site was selected because it has adequate space for a 14,000-square-foot building of different configurations and would provide sufficient parking, according to the committee. The lot also already is owned by the town and would not require acquisition costs, is more centrally located for the town, retains the current library during construction, and would preserve Memorial Park, the panel concluded.
The committee has maintained that the current site would not be large enough unless Memorial Park was used for the expansion and that a second floor would be needed which would increase operational costs.
The Friends of Rockport propose three additions, one of which would be a story and a half, to the existing library that would add 2,600 square feet of space. The group also suggests revisions to the parking area.
The organization indicates in a press release that the changes would provide simple solutions to space and parking problems at a reasonable cost.
Kathleen Meil, chair of the library committee, said Tuesday, “We’re delighted that this group —- which has for so long opposed anything but the status quo — finally recognizes the need for significant change.
“Though we can argue about semantics, this group’s proposed expansion — which includes three separate additions, a second floor, and the realignment of Limerock Street — constitutes an effectively new library,” Meil said.
She said residents, even supporters of the plan unveiled Friday, can vote yes on Question 8, which calls for plans to be developed for a new library. Meil said the only remaining question is where that library should be located. She pointed out that an independent steering committee, the Rockport Library Committee, and the Rockport Select Board have all endorsed the Rockport Elementary School site as the best option to meet the needs of the whole community, now and into the future.