Negotiations between the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library and Enterprise Builders of Newington are on pace for a mid-January 2019 contract signing, potentially marking a major milestone for the $15 million renovation and expansion effort.

“The library project is finally coming into the home stretch. That is very good news for the people of Madison, who will finally have the 21st century library that they want and deserve,” said Beth Coyne, president of the library’s board of trustees. “We have found a general contractor with an excellent track record on this kind of project. They have worked on successful projects with our architects, DRA, and with our project managers, Colliers International. We’re in a very good place.”

Coyne also noted that winning bid was well within the construction budget.

“That means we are in a position to add back important elements of the project that were previously cut out because of money concerns. We have always pledged to deliver the best library that the budget will allow. It’s very nice to have some wiggle room to deal with long-term operating costs and with maintenance issues that need to be addressed.”

A major factor that contributed to the favorable budget projections was timing. Graham Curtis, chair of the Ad Hoc Library Expansion Building Committee, noted that when the bidding was opened in November, the project was in a very good market. Eight qualified bidders vied for the project, and all of their bids were within budget.

At the committee’s most recent meeting on Dec. 10, the discussion turned to elements of the project that had been previously eliminated or shunted into the deferred maintenance category as cost-savings measures. These include repairs to the existing roof; repointing the masonry on the existing building, including the historic portion of the library; and re-thinking the financing of roof top photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Woodie Weiss, a member of library building committee and chair of Madison’s Energy Efficiency Committee, suggested that rather than leasing the panels, the new budget projections might allow outright purchase. That would translate into free electricity starting when the building opens and extending out for decades to come.

“Anything we can do to hold down operating costs now will have a big payback over time,” Weiss said.

The project already includes an advanced HVAC system using ground source heat pumps that will save significantly on energy costs.

The heat pumps are also “very environmentally friendly compared to other systems that are available now, and especially in comparison to the existing systems at the library, which were last overhauled in 1989,” Weiss said, adding, “HVAC and electricity generating technology has come light years since then and we are fortunate to be able to take full advantage of those advances.”