The issue involving what will become of the old library is currently being discussed by the Selectmen and residents of Common Street and Lewis Avenue at town meetings. Since the new Walpole library will be ready for use in a few months, the town must come to a profitable and municipal decision soon. The issue has been pushed aside since 2009 so the building will be vacant for one to two years before the town can act on the final ultimatum.
During the past meetings, possible outcomes of the library have been housing, a senior center, an extension of town hall, or selling the land for revenue. Senior housing was quickly ruled out by local residents because it would not be suitable for the neighborhood. Also, the idea of building and selling a house on the plot of land was tossed aside because the area is worth less then 350,000 dollars and not big enough for the town to make a significant profit. Selling the land for revenue would not be successful because of the poor economy and not many businesses are looking to putting money into a new location. The lot could be vacant for longer than expected if the town chooses to wait for entrepreneurs. In addition, fundraising for a senior center is underway and the library’s lot is an option for the location of the center. Although residents of the neighborhood eliminated senior housing as an option, this idea could be accommodating because it is near the center of town but also located in a neighborhood.
The most beneficial option for the community would be to invest in creating an extension of the Town Hall. The School Department is running out of room and could use the extra space for offices. The schools’ food service employees were relocated to the Plimpton building along with other school offices due to the lack of space. Moving the departments to the old library would create more room in Plimpton for special education and other school related programs. If the town follows through on this idea then the high school will benefit greatly and little construction will have to be done to the building. The Plimpton building should solely be used for school programs and the benefit of learning for the students at Walpole high school. If the offices moved to the old library then not only would the town hall get more space but communication between the school offices would be more convenient and successful.
A problem the town is faced with is the American Disability Act; it states that when a facility changes its use then the town must upgrade the building to the new requirements of this act. The building must be updated on handicap accessibilities, which is the original reason why people were pushing for a new library or one that compensated the handicap. Also, the costs of the disability requirements has not be looked into but the task will be expensive.
Within the next couple of weeks the town should come to a conclusion of the old library issues. Although the decision wouldn’t be acted on for some time, many residents want answers and a goal to reach. The discussion so far has leaned more towards a senior center or extension of the town hall. Both ideas could prove to be beneficial and profitable for the town.
Very interesting perspective. What amazes me is that it took 2 whole years before the town actually started talking about what to do with the old library. We knew back in June 2009 that a new library was on its way, yet Town Hall waited until August 2011 before they brought the neighbors together to discuss it.
At the rate we’re going, this building is likely to remain vacant for at least another 2 years, if not more. It will sit wasting space while the rest of our town departments run out of room to do their work. And all because we didn’t start talking about early enough.
Also of interest is the fact that no one at Town Hall has looked into the costs of upgrading the handicapped accessibility at the old library – despite the fact that, again, we knew back in June 2009 that we would inevitably have to make it handicapped accessible for whatever new use it became. So 2 years have gone by, and we still don’t even know how much it would cost to make it accessible. It would not have been difficult for the town to get an estimate of how much this would cost.
Sam Obar • Oct 3, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Very interesting perspective. What amazes me is that it took 2 whole years before the town actually started talking about what to do with the old library. We knew back in June 2009 that a new library was on its way, yet Town Hall waited until August 2011 before they brought the neighbors together to discuss it.
At the rate we’re going, this building is likely to remain vacant for at least another 2 years, if not more. It will sit wasting space while the rest of our town departments run out of room to do their work. And all because we didn’t start talking about early enough.
Also of interest is the fact that no one at Town Hall has looked into the costs of upgrading the handicapped accessibility at the old library – despite the fact that, again, we knew back in June 2009 that we would inevitably have to make it handicapped accessible for whatever new use it became. So 2 years have gone by, and we still don’t even know how much it would cost to make it accessible. It would not have been difficult for the town to get an estimate of how much this would cost.