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Library's Expansion | Newspaper Articles
Councilors may decide on library loan tonight
J.J. Huggins, Sentinel & Enterprise, September 25,
2006
LEOMINSTER -- The City Council is scheduled to discuss
tonight whether to approve a $1.3 million loan to pay for
unexpected costs of building the new library.
Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella has asked the council to approve
the spending to help cover a shortfall in the money needed
to complete the building, which is supposed to open in
spring 2007.
The matter has stirred controversy in recent weeks,
especially from residents, who are concerned about their
taxes going up.
But the mayor said many people are supporting the project.
"I'm starting to get inundated with people who are calling
to support the library," Mazzarella said Friday.
Officials estimated the library was going to cost about
$10.8 million after the council approved $7.8 million for
the building in 2003, according to Mark Bodanza, the
chairman of the Leominster Public Library Building
Committee.
But now officials expect the project will cost about $12.3
million, according to Bodanza.
The state is providing about $3 million in grant money for
the project.
Tonight's meeting begins with a public forum at 7:45 p.m. in
the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
In other business, the council is holding a public hearing
at 7 p.m. regarding Daniel J. McCarty's request for a
special permit to demolish the existing building at 89
Commercial Road -- near the Mall at Whitney Field -- so it
can be replaced with a PetSmart store.
The council is also scheduled to vote on whether to
appropriate $25,000 to the Department of Public Works'
highway overtime account.
DPW Director Patrick LaPointe wrote a letter to the council
explaining how the department had already used up its
$40,000 overtime allotment this fiscal year, partly due to
work its employees did at Doyle Field.
The city typically underfunds departments' overtime
accounts, and it is common for a department head to request
more money.
But it is unusual the DPW ran out of overtime money this
early in the fiscal year, LaPointe has said.
The council's finance subcommittee met last Thursday night
and decided to recommend that the full council approve the
overtime spending.
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