Mayor Serenades the Board at BOT Meeting

The Mayor serenaded the Village Board with a refrain from a Tom Chapin song celebrating libraries at their Tuesday night meeting when he discussed a proposal to renovate and update the Scarsdale Library.

He sang,

"Oh, I'm going down to the Library,
Picking out a book, check it in, check it out.
Gonna say Hi to the Dictionary,
Picking out a book, check it in, check it out."

Mark was airing his thoughts about an $18.5 million proposal to reconfigure, modernize and add to the library. The plan includes a redesign of the interior, the addition of an l-shaped seating area and deck surrounding the main room, the addition of several conference rooms, an expanded entrance and lobby with a café and enhanced technology throughout.

Mark said that the Library Board had originally estimated that the project would cost $12 million and expected to raise $7.5 million from private donors. The Village had planned to finance $4.5 million through a bond offering. However, the proposal is now estimated to cost $18.5 million with another $1 million needed to operate a temporary library at Supply Field while the library is under construction.

Mark acknowledged that the current building is aging and has infrastructure issues and lauded the Board for a very thorough plan. He said, "I believe that this project fits well within what residents expect our Village to offer and so would be a great project to do."

But he wondered if "the community is interested in bearing the cost of the debt that would be incurred to fund the Village's portion of the presently estimated total cost" ... and what, if any, would be the "impact of new debt issuances on the AAA credit rating of the Village."

He asked residents to "do their homework" by attending a December 3rd event at the library where the plans will be unveiled or by viewing a model of the proposed renovation at the library after the event. He asked residents to give their feedback to the board at meetings, or by email to let the Board know their views on undertaking this major project. (The full text of the Mayor's remarks appears below)

Later in the meeting the Board accepted a donation of $31,500 from the Friends of the Scarsdale Library to the Scarsdale Public Library Master Plan Capital Improvement Project.

Mark also acknowledged receipt of an extensive report from the Scarsdale Forum's Municipal Service Committee on traffic and safety in Scarsdale. The report includes a traffic assessment and suggestions to improve safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians on Village streets. Mark said the Board would fully consider all the recommendations in the report but said there was one that could be implemented now. He asked residents to change their "mindset, expectations and habits" and "slow down, put the smart phones away while driving, bicycling and walking and extend common courtesy to those with whom you happen to be sharing the roads and sidewalks. Applying a large measure of common sense in this regard would go a long way to making all the Village streets – not just those in the Village Center – a safer place for all."

Lawsuit

Village Attorney Wayne Essanason said that a group called Save the Sound has commenced an action against Westchester County and 11 municipalities, including Scarsdale, for failing to comply with a consent decree from the EPA regarding untreated sewage that is being deposited into Long Island Sound. In order to finance the construction of a new sewage treatment plant, Westchester County is pressuring municipalities to enter into an inter-muncipal agreement (IMA) to pay for the work. However, in the interim, Save the Sound filed the suit. Essanason said that the Village is now interviewing counsel to defend Scarsdale and hopes to share the cost with other municipalities.

Construction Noise

The board held a public hearing and passed an amendment to limit construction noise during certain hours. They agreed to outlaw "noise-making construction activity, including but not limited to hammering, ditch digging, scraping, unloading and vehicle backup signaling before the hour of 8 am and after the hour of 9 pm on any weekday and before 10 am and 5 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. During the public comments section Bob Harrison asked the Trustees to consider limiting noise to an earlier hour on weekdays and Mayor Mark said they would consider his suggestion. Village Manager Steve Pappalardo noted that the majority of complaints concerned early morning noise – not evening noise – and that construction crews tended to get to work early and stop at 4 or 5 pm.

Funds for Road Resurfacing

The Village accepted two payments of $30,590 and $64,849 from Con Edison to be used to resurface the following roads that were torn up during the replacement of natural gas lines:

Roads to be repaved are:

• Fox Meadow Road from Wayside Lane to Ogden Road
• Dickel Road and Fairview Roads

Memorial Bench

The Board accepted a gift of $1,000 from Kristen Gorham for a bench plaque at Boniface Circle and a new bench and plaque at Hyatt Field in memory of Gorham's mother Colette Hoey. Hoey lived in Edgewood from 1978 until her death in 2015.

Appointments

The Board made the following appointments:

Vicki Bey of 27 Vanderbilt Road will served on the Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens.

Gregory Dietz of 66 Brewster Road will serve on the Conservation Advisory Council

Matthew Schwartz of Montrose Road will serve on the Committee for Historic Preservation to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of CHP Chair Paul Diamond.

Mayor's Comments

Comments by Jon Mark
Meeting of Board of Trustees
November 10, 2015

Scarsdale Forum Traffic Study
Last Friday, the Board received from the Scarsdale Forum the "Report of the Municipal Services Committee on Traffic Assessment, Safety and Improvement in the Village of Scarsdale." The 24-page report dated October 28, 2015 contains numerous detailed observations and suggestions for addressing traffic safety particularly in the Village Center, but also on some of the surrounding streets as well. Traffic safety in the Village is a constant concern and has been for decades. Much has been done over the years to address those concerns, but as the Report points out, there is always the possibility that more can be done – and what is already being done might be done better using updated techniques and technology. The Village staff was already in the process of engaging a traffic consultant to study the sort of issues discussed in the report and we have asked that the comments in the Report be made part of that analysis.

It may take some time to sift through all the Report suggests and to implement those of its suggestions that may be worthwhile. However, one observation set forth in the conclusion of the Report can be implemented now at no cost. To quote the language in the Report: "...to make the Village Center a safer place there needs to be a change in the mindset, expectations, habits and sense of responsibility of motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists who travel to, from and through the Village Center." This sort of change on the part of all of us could do more to promote traffic safety than all the lights and signs we might install. So please, drivers slow down, put the smart phones away while driving, bicycling and walking and extend common courtesy to those with whom you happen to be sharing the roads and sidewalks. Applying a large measure of common sense in this regard would go a long way to making all the Village streets – not just those in the Village Center – a safer place for all.

We thank the Forum's Municipal Services Committee for the hard work that went into researching and preparing their report.

Library Project
"Oh, I'm going down to the Library,
Picking out a book, check it in, check it out.
Gonna say Hi to the Dictionary,
Picking out a book, check it in, check it out."

So sang Tom Chapin in his song celebrating libraries. And that is what I want to talk about next.

The Library Board has presented us with a wonderful plan for renovating and enlarging the Scarsdale Library. In a presentation to a meeting of this Board as a Committee of the Whole held two weeks ago, we were taken through the plan step by step. In general, the plan contemplates substantial reconfiguration of the existing interior; the addition of an "L" shaped reading area around two sides of the existing building; the addition of several conference rooms; the addition of a small outdoor deck; an expansion of the entrance lobby, an upgrading of the Library's computing and communications infrastructure; and the addition of a coffee/refreshment bar. All of this is would be done while making minimal changes to the sides of the existing building that face Olmstead Road and the library parking lot. It was clear that a lot of time, effort and careful thought went into the proposal. It also seemed that there was a general feeling among the members of this Board that the plan was very well done and there was considerable enthusiasm for it among our members.

That's the easy part. The more challenging aspect of the proposal is the estimated cost and funding for the project. As to the former, the present estimate is $18.5 million for the renovation plus another $1 million for the cost of temporary space for library operations during construction – or a total of $19.5 million. As to funding, the concept has been, and still is, to raise funds using a public private partnership approach. In this case, what is meant by that is that the Library Board would attempt to raise $7.5 million from private donors. The Village would commit to issue bonds to cover a portion of the balance of the presently estimated cost— $11 million as proposed by the Library Board -- and an additional estimated $1 million to cover the cost of a temporary Library site, for a total Village commitment of $12 million.

It is noted, that when the Library Board approached the Village Board about the renovation project two years ago the then estimated cost was $12 million. At that time, the Village Board adopted a resolution committing to bond $4.5 million of that estimate provided that at least $4.5 million of private donations could be raised through the efforts of the Library Board members, with the balance of the funds to be raised privately through the efforts of the Library Board. When asked at the meeting two weeks ago to explain the increase in the cost estimate from $12 million to $18.5 million, the members of the Library Board indicated that the earlier estimate had been based on very preliminary drawings. In contrast, the Library Board members stated that the present plan reflects a more comprehensive design.

The question before this Board is then a relatively simple one – although arriving at the right answer may not be so simple. The question, to be blunt, is whether the community is interested in bearing the cost of the debt that would be incurred to fund the Village's portion of the presently estimated total cost. Further, it is probably appropriate to ask, what if the private funding raising efforts fall short and the Village is called upon to fund more than $12 million. Is community interest sufficient to justify any such additional expense?

This Board would like to hear from the community on this subject, but preferably after the community has had a chance to inform itself on the details of what is proposed. It seems apparent from information provided by the Library Board that the Scarsdale Library is a much used, highly valued asset of the Village. Those who ask why that is the case, in this internet age, might not be aware of the community's extensive use of the Library.

The 2014 library strategic plan, available on the Library's web site, reports that:
In 2014, the library had more than 300,000 patron visits with significant growth in circulation and programs, including:
• 352 children's programs attracted more than 13,000,
• Wireless usage was up 40 percent,
• Use of a tutor website increased 148 percent,
• Downloadable e-book usage was up 38 percent,
• Adult programming increased by 30 percent with 152 events, including book groups, films, safe driving classes, medical and public affairs programs.

We were also told that realtors regularly take families contemplating a move to Scarsdale to the Library and show it off as one of the "gems" in the Village.

These figures and experience make a strong case that the Library functions as a vibrant community center—that it is not simply a place to check out books, or for the school population to do their homework at night.

Yet in spite of its continuing appeal, our Library building has aged, it has infrastructure issues that should be addressed, it could be made more user friendly to the disabled and a technology upgrade would be in order if the Library is going to serve the community in the manner 21st century libraries are being used. The sort of changes contemplated by the proposed renovation plan would address these matters and greatly enhance the ability of the Library to serve our community. According to public reports, other communities have made substantial investments in their public libraries with great results. For example, in 2007, Ossining opened a new public library built at a cost of approximately $16 million that was funded with a publicly approved bond issue. Greenwich built a substantial new addition to its library in 1999 at a cost of $16.5 million using funds provided by a private bequest and in 2000 renovated and modernized the original library building using $11.25 million in funds raised from a capital campaign. In March 2009, a $5.6 million renovation of the Byram Shubert Branch Library in Greenwich was completed using mainly private donations supplemented by federal, state and town funds. The Harrison Library completed a $3.6 million renovation in September 2015 with funds provided in roughly equal parts by the Town of Harrison and approximately 500 private donors. In short, it appears community libraries have an important role to play – and serve a real need -- even in our era of digital internet communication.

We have asked the Village staff to analyze the Library Board's numbers in a variety of hypothetical situations. In doing their analysis, the staff has been asked to consider a number of factors, including:

•assumptions about various levels of private and public funding for the library project and amortization rates for Village bond issuances for the project;
•anticipated capital funding which may be needed for other infrastructure projects such as those pertaining to the sewer system, storm water system, the water system and the Scarsdale pool to name but a few;
•anticipated capital funding for the replacement of Village equipment such as fire trucks;
•analysis of the timing of maturities and the decrease of debt service of existing Village debt;
•assumptions of the impact, if any, of new debt issuances on the AAA credit rating of the Village.

We have asked a Village staff working group to meet with representatives of the Library Board to go over these and other aspects of the proposal with a view to reporting back to this Board with the results of their analysis. Once we hear from them, we will update you on next steps.

Scarsdale is a community known for its schools, and more generally the value it places on learning and intellectual accomplishment. Our Library plays an integral role in fostering those important values. It is also an architectural gem that itself now could use some enhancement. The Library Board and its advisors have come up with a wonderful plan that would meet that objective. In short, I believe that this project fits well within what residents expect our Village to offer and so would be a great project to do. Further, projects of this magnitude only come along rarely due to the enormous amount of time and coordinated effort they require from volunteers and professionals. So, one aspect to consider is that if this project is not done, the issues it attempts to address may not be focused on for many years and the opportunity with which we have been presented will be lost – or long deferred. Having said that, this Board is also cognizant of the tax burden we all bear and are desirous of making decisions in a fiscally prudent manner that has meaningful community support. It therefore would be of great interest to get thoughtful feedback from the community as to whether or not there is substantial support for going ahead with what has been proposed and for the community's willingness to have the Village issue the debt to fund it.

So here is your homework assignment. The Library is hosting a party with food, wine and music to celebrate the Library on Thursday, December 3rd at 7:30 pm. The plans for the renovation will be revealed at the party. Tickets are $50. Either attend the party and get a first look at the plans, or take a look at the proposal after December 3rd when it is expected that plans and a three dimensional model of what is proposed will be on display in the Library. Then, let us know what you think. You can comment in person during the public comment portion of our meetings held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month or send us an email. Emails sent to clerk@scarsdale.com will be distributed to members of this Board and will become part of the community discussion on this topic.

We look forward to hearing from you on this important proposed community project.