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Library Building Committee Named

At a meeting on April 3, the Town Council appointed Michael Neff, Paul Gebauer, Marc Simmons, Elizabeth Goldstein, Henry Carter Hull Library (HCH) Director Maribeth Breen, and council member Dennis Donovan to a building committee to discuss potential upgrades to the library.

The council and library members have discussed potential upgrades to the HCH over the last six months.

At a meeting on March 20, the council unanimously approved a motion to create a seven-member building committee consisting of seven members from the library, local builders, pub works, and one council member. Councilor Donovan volunteered to serve on the committee at that meeting.

At the meeting on April 3, the council appointed six of the members but agreed a seventh member would be appointed in two weeks. Donovan said a candidate with contractor experience had been contacted but, at the time of the meeting, hadn’t yet submitted the paperwork required to be considered for the position.

The idea for potential upgrades to the library was first discussed in a workshop between library representatives and the Town Council on Sept. 20, 2023. At the time, Breen told the council that the library wasn’t interested in new buildings or additions but instead was looking to increase the study rooms, rework the entranceway, increase signage, and add community space.

Last year, Breen said the HCH was interested in potential upgrades due to the library’s increased usage over the last several years.

“Libraries have seen a dramatic uptick in meeting room usage and program attendance. We seem to always be scrambling to find rooms for small meetings, study groups, and work-from-home patrons,” Breen said at the time.

In October 2023, the Town Council agreed to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to get cost estimates for the potential upgrades. At the Town Council meeting on Feb. 21, the council unanimously voted to fund a study of the library for $14,000 if the library would also contribute $14,000 to hire an architect.

Breen said last month that the next step will be to contract with QA + M Architecture for schematic designs. According to Breen, the town received six responses to the RFP, but the QA + M proposal stood out. Prior to former Town Manager Karl Kilduff’s final day with the town, he sat down with Breen, HCH Library Board of Trustees President Rich Santanelli, and a representative from QA + M, and all agreed the firm would be a good fit.

Moved to its current location in 1998, the Henry Carter Hull Library is one of the most popular facilities in Clinton. In 2022 alone, the library saw 23,000 people attend programs there. Despite modest upgrades over the years since the move, Breen said the library could still use more changes.

Two different community surveys—one conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and one post-pandemic—showed a desire for increased community space and programming.