MERIDEN — A plan to replace the outdated Meriden Library is likely headed back to Plainfield voters at Town Meeting, though this time library trustees say they will not have to raise any new money from taxpayers because of a strong fundraising campaign within the community.
The proposed one-story, 3,700-square-foot building is estimated to cost about $1.1 million and would be handicapped-accessible and also include a multi-function room, bathrooms and a kitchenette.
Jeanne Woodward-Poor, the chairwoman of the Plainfield Public Libraries Board of Trustees, said Saturday that donations from the community have totaled around $1 million.
Along with an available $50,000 from the town’s ADA capital reserve fund and $18,400 in an existing town account to replace the current building, library supporters are already within $50,000 of the estimated project cost, she said.
“We are completely confident that we will meet our goal and build the new library totally with private funds (we have ADA money and an old small library account already),” she said. “We are blessed with a town that is in support of two libraries in town, and a community that is generous with its time and money.”
Meriden has had its own library, in some fashion, for more than 220 years, and the building that would be replaced was dedicated in 1965. Not only do patrons have to navigate steps to enter the library, but a renovation is impractical because of asbestos in the building, Woodward-Poor said.
Supporters of the Meriden Library have long planned the replacement, especially since the town contributed some $500,000 toward a major upgrade to the Philip Read Memorial Library on Route 12A in Plainfield Village several years ago.
A vote to raise $975,000 for the Meriden project enjoyed almost 57% support in a 2019 Town Meeting vote, but failed because it included a $500,000 bond that required two-thirds support.
At Plainfield’s delayed Town Meeting last July, a Meriden Library project article was amended to zero dollars by mutual consent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest proposal includes a new rendering for the building in a sugarhouse style by Geobarns, a Hartford timber-frame builder. Woodward-Poor said nothing is finalized and it remains a concept, as does the final wording of the proposed article for the Town Meeting warrant, which would have to be approved by the Selectboard.
Town Administrator Steve Halleran said the wording may need to include “to see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $1,100,000 for the replacement of the Meriden Library building” to comply with state law, but made clear that it would also clarify that no new tax dollars would be required.
“The fact is even though there is a zero tax impact, no one would be comfortable with replacing a town building without a vote at Town Meeting,” Halleran said. “The good news is no tax dollars.”
Another question is when Plainfield’s Town Meeting itself may take place. The floor vote would normally be on March 13 this year, and town officials need to get the warrant into the Annual Report, but the manner in which votes will be held, and when, may depend on whatever action the New Hampshire Legislature takes to help towns deal with the ongoing pandemic, Halleran said.
News staff writer John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com or 603-727-3217.