Library Project is a Go! Village Board Approves $9.9 MM Bond Offering

Calling the proposed library renovation a right-sized project at the right time, the Scarsdale Village Board made history on Tuesday night 12-13 when they approved a $9.9 million bond offering to fund the "public" portion of the ambitious project which will update and expand Scarsdale's aging library. Trustee Bill Stern said the library was "The jewel in the crown of the community," and voted "yes" for the bond saying "We owe it to Scarsdale to make that crown shine." Plans call for a complete overhaul of the library that will open up the main reading room, add meeting spaces, install new wiring and technology, expand the children's and teen areas and include a café that will serve as a gathering place for the community.

The vote marked the culmination of six years of planning by Scarsdale Library Board of Trustees, who began the process with focus groups and an assessment of community needs. Non-profit consultants Plan A Advisors were retained to evaluate the potential for private fundraising. Schematics were drawn to address these needs and allowed the board to get estimates of what it would cost to take the library into the 21st century.

The group overcame major obstacles, specifically fierce objections to the 2016 Revaluation that consumed almost all of the Village Board's attention for the better part of a year and brought out a cost-conscious segment of the community who railed against higher taxes and public spending. Ultimately the Library Board managed to re-position the proposed library renovation as the answer to the Village's woes, switching the focus from taxes to investment in the community. They communicated the concept of a 21st century cultural and intellectual hub that would serve all residents from tots to seniors, now and for future generations.

When the Village Board proposed putting the bond offering to a community-wide referendum, the group advocated for the Village Board to use their authority to make the decision themselves. Perhaps they feared that a Village-wide vote might incite a backlash, similar to a movement that brought the first negative school budget vote in Scarsdale in 2013. At the meeting on Tuesday night, trustees voted down a resolution to put the bond offering to a village-wide vote.

Undoubtedly a key piece of the group's success was their ability to attract a large and capable group to their team, who reached out to the community at large, were a constant presence at Village Hall and were flexible in addressing criticisms. In response to objections to the original $20.5 million project, they identified $3 mm in cost savings in July 2016, bringing the cost down to $17.9 million.

The Library Capitol Campaign Committee has pledged to raise a total of $7.5 million and they have already met $4.1 million of that goal. At the meeting on Tuesday, Dara Gruenberg, who heads the Campaign Committee, made a surprise announcement that they had secured two major donations of $1 million each, contingent upon the Village Board's approval of the bond. That $2 million puts them at $4.1 million to date.

Funds will come from a variety of sources. Proponents pointed out that the Village Board had already approved $4.5 million for renovations to the existing building in 2014. They also believe that during the two years that the library will be closed there will be $1.5 million in operational cost savings to the Village. In addition, the Village Manager has also applied for a $500,000 grant from the NYS Dormitory Authority that will be used toward this project.

Under the terms of the resolution, private contributions will need to be secured before the Village issues the $9.9 million bond offering. The agreement says, "No bonds or notes shall be sold by the Village Treasurer pursuant to the authority delegated to the Village Treasurer here in unless and until an aggregate of $7,500,000 expected to be received from the Friends of the Library or other sources shall have been received by the Village Treasurer or are available from a Qualify Back-stop Facility."

Though the Library Board has now achieved this major hurdle, the Campaign Committee will still need to raise another $3.4 million to make the project a reality.

Commenting on the vote, Terri Simon, the President of the Board of the Scarsdale Library said, "The Library Board is so pleased by the vision and leadership shown by the Village Board in approving the $9.9 million bond resolution, a critical step toward making a 21st century library a reality for Scarsdale. The trustees worked immensely hard, as our elected representatives, asking us focused and challenging questions about project complexities for several years, and the project is the better for it. We appreciate their commitment now to moving forward in a way that will be good for all of Scarsdale. We are also immensely gratified by the outpouring of community support for the project, and we are confident that, with the Village commitment, we will be able to complete the private fundraising that will, with the benefit of this unusual public-private partnership, bring the project to fruition."

In a meeting that extended to midnight, each Trustee offered a lengthy explanation for their vote, which was six for and one against.

Jane Veron said that she "joined the board with no preconceived ideas about the library, but after lots of research I will support the project and vote no to a referendum." She continued, "The library is woefully inadequate. ... It would be irresponsible not to act now when we have private funds at the ready. The library is core to our brand. Families expect us to have a library like or better than like towns... Our community prides itself on engaged learning...We believe in the power of Scarsdale."

Matt Callaghan was the sole "no" vote on the board. He had reservations about securing the pledges and feared construction cost overruns that would be paid for by the Village. Instead, he favored funds going to the renovation of Fire Station #1, calling it a "life and death matter."

Bill Stern showed a photo of duct tape holding up a portion of a wall at the library. He said, "Keep the library in the 21st century. There is not enough space, not enough room and services are stymied. I think this is a godsend for the community. It will maintain Scarsdale's property values and make it attractive in the future."

Carl Finger acknowledged and thanked the public, saying, "It's been an education." He said this issue "Has had the most public participation of any in recent memory .... and there has been lots of research and involvement." He said, that "Circulation, attendance and events and usage have been increasing every year." Justifying the expense, he said, "The Village is getting the library at half the price" and it is "incumbent upon us to improve our village." He voted "yes."

Trustee Deb Pekarek concurred, remembered her experience with libraries as a child, a mother and a teacher. She said, "I can conjure up libraries all over the country and have visceral remembrances of past and present. " She called libraries places of "adventure and discovery," and said, "Now is the time to weigh the project we have before us." She said that "careful cost controls are in place," and voted yes.

Trustee Marc Samwick said he was originally skeptical of the plan but ultimately decided that the Village's net investment was only $4 million more than they would have paid for a renovation. He promised to "remain diligent as we move forward" and said he was "proud to vote in favor of this library that we will enjoy for decades to come."

Mayor Jon Mark call the Library Board "a driving force" and said the library had been on the agenda at 40 public meetings. He said, "libraries are very much in demand," and "are treated as a core function in communities large and small, adding, "There is no reason that Scarsdale should not act now." He quoted former Scarsdale School Superintendent Harold Howe (1960-64) who said, "What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it feels about education" and said "The same can be said about a village. What we think about our library is a measure of what we feel about education in a broader sense here in Scarsdale. Now is a moment to show this is a core value and we are prepared to make an investment both for ourselves and those who come after us."

The Board voted 6-1 to approve the bond offering and voted unanimously against a public vote on the bond referendum. You can watch the meeting in its entirety here: