Orono council approves $2.6M for library expansion

Orono will give $2.6 million to the Orono Library Foundation to help fund a project that would double the size of its public library, town councilors decided Monday night.

The proposed project, estimated to cost more than $7 million, would expand the library’s footprint from 6,500 to 13,750 square feet. Plans include a large community room for events during the day and after hours, an area reserved for teenagers and more private workspace for library staff, among other features.

Town councilors had expressed support for the project at previous meetings, but had not committed to the $2.6 million request, which is contingent on additional money coming from the federal government.

The councilors have other capital improvements totaling about $16 million to consider moving forward. Advocates for the project urged them to make a much-needed investment in their community because it will never cost less, and the expansion also has federal backing.

Monday night’s 6-1 vote solidified the council’s support.

“I am very much in support of this because, since I was a little kid, libraries have been clear to me as an important resource for a community,” Councilor Rob Laraway said, pointing out that difficult conversations about spending will be coming up. “It was a place where I could learn and grow, and I think it’s that for a lot of people.”

The foundation’s president, James Jackson Sanborn, said it’s expecting to receive $3.6 million in congressionally directed spending thanks to Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King. The group is waiting for the federal government to pass its budget, particularly the agriculture bill that includes its funding. It will fundraise for the remainder of the money.

Having a solid commitment from the town, which is contingent upon the project getting those congressional dollars, helps the foundation approach major donors, he said. It also can stick to its timeline and begin its capital campaign.

The only no-vote on the council came from Leo Kenney, its vice chairperson, who said it would be preferable for the issue to go to referendum. His family members are avid supporters of the library, but he takes the responsibility of spending other people’s money seriously, he said. The town doubled its expenses in nine years and has “a little bit of a spending problem,” he said.

Earlier in the meeting, a former Orono library director said that the project cannot wait for the March ballot and that collections are being weeded frequently because the building does not have enough shelving.

The foundation formed in 2002 and planned to open a 12,000-square-foot library, but there was only enough funding for a building half that size, Library Director Laurie Carpenter said earlier this year. The free-standing library opened in 2009 after previously being located inside the high school.

Not all libraries are equal, and those with dynamic and imaginative leadership are so important in the towns that they serve, said resident Claire Ackroyd, who alongside her small dog has read to children at the library.

 “If there is one thing we should be investing in — potholes and everything else aside — it’s anything that helps us secure and build our sense of community,” she said. “That’s our best chance for survival and success.”