There's a bit of a back story on the library closing from today through Sept. 3.
Library Director Joe Da Rold met with the Planning Board on Aug. 1 to discuss the capital improvement plan for 2013 through 2018. Things were looking bleak, as Chairman Ken Robertson said there had been no capital expenditures in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012. To avoid a huge expenditure and give the City Council some breathing room, Robertson said, the board wanted to "zero out" 2014. Among other changes, would Da Rold mind moving a $300,000 item for carpet replacement and bookstack relocation from 2016 to 2017?
Actually, Da Rold said, the project was going to be done in a couple of weeks - funded by the Plainfield Foundation. See the library's advisory on the closing here.
Grants will save the day while the city irons out the CIP, which generally involves bonding for big-ticket items such as roads, building repairs, vehicles and heavy equipment. Federal, state and county grants as well as funding from foundations may be the only means of paying for major projects in the short term.
Eloise Tinley, president of the Historical Society of Plainfield, was also discussing capital needs for Drake House with the Planning Board at the same meeting. Tinley said two Preserve New Jersey grants from Union County require matching amounts, but said she has been told there will be no more matching grants. So that is a further caveat on grants, although on Monday the council approved submission of a grant application to the county's 2013 Kids Recreation Trust Fund that required a 50 percent match. The resolution summary on the agenda did not include a dollar amount.
Proposed Drake House capital projects discussed on Aug. 1 include a perimeter fence and sensors, interior renovations and an archeological study.
The library's future projects include plans to relocate the main entry of the library and construct a "central core" where the pool now stands. Da Rold also said the library needs a standby emergency generator at a cost of $430,000. It was closed for 10 days during Hurricane Sandy, nine days without power and one day to bring systems back up. He said he had asked the city to apply to PSE&G to have the library declared a "resource center" so it could get power back quicker. Meanwhile, he will be looking for grants or other funding to get needed projects going.
The Planning Board hears from department and division heads on capital needs and adjusts the multi-year plan for projects. On a chart for 2014 through 2018, capital needs include traffic signal repairs citywide in the Police Division. The Fire Division list includes $1.3 million for plumbing upgrades at the historic main fire house. The Planning Division has multiple yearly requests for $200,000 as it chips away at creating the Green Brook Trail. Roadway projects totaling $25 million are on the Engineering Division's five-year list.
The Recreation Division wants to do a skateboard park study. Public Works projects include improvements to two major parking lots, with installation of pay stations, and vehicle replacement for $3.2 million in 2013-2018. the IT Division needs computer/scanner/printer replacements.
The document with all 2013-2018 capital proposals notes that the following divisions made no requests: Audit & Control, Health, Community Development, Purchasing, Senior center, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, WIC Office, Personnel and Economic Development. The chart is available in the Planning Office.
Robertson said the Planning Board had done its job in the capital planning process, but others had not. Plaintalker surmises the situation will pose yet another challenge for the next administration.
(Disclaimer: my son has a 15-hour per week job at the library.)
--Bernice
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Bernice: that application to the Kids Recreation Trust Fund with a City match...what's that for? Thank you, as always
ReplyDeleteI did not look at that resolution, with all the other stuff to check. It is on file in the clerk's office.
DeletePlaintalker surmises correctly.
ReplyDeleteCounting on grants to fund capital needs is purely wishful thinking. Sure, there are plenty of grants available but there are many, many applicants for each. We'll get out share but without increased self-funding, i.e., tax revenues, which are nowhere on the horizon, we'll sink deeper into the abyss. I don't know who to blame for this, maybe everyone elected in the past 10 years, but claiming to have a "balanced budget" every year while pushing forward the capital component was just a series of malfeasant lies.
I was never sure if it is capit-A-l or capit-O-l. I think it is actually the "o" The "a" means government HQ so to speak. But this is Summer break, no more teachers, no more .... you remember the rest [for atleast a week or 2]
ReplyDeleteA is money and town, o is the building.
Delete