Ulster Township supervisors voted Monday to form a committee that will develop a plan for a proposed new municipal building.
The committee would include township officials, community members and representatives of the Mather Memorial Library, which has proposed a concept development putting the township office and library under one roof.
Supervisor Dick Farr, who proposed the committee's formation, said he is open to working with members of the library's board, but thinks the 6,480-square-foot concept project needs to be scaled back. The committee, Farr said, will hopefully be able to work together and develop a project that works for both groups.
"I can't see a $600,000 municipal building and library, but I think it can be toned down," Farr said. "I just think that the plan has too many frills in it."
Under the library's concept plan, the building would also include a community space and would be built on the Totem Street site of the former Immaculate Conception Catholic Church building. The library purchased the building for $35,000 in 2011, but has yet to move from its location on Route 220 due to financial constraints.
Supervisors said the church building, which needs extensive repairs, would be demolished and a new building constructed on the site if the plan to work with the library moves forward. If the library and township do not come to an agreement, the municipal building is proposed to be constructed at the township-owned baseball field property on Cash Creek Road.
Farr said he would be more open to the idea if 2,000 square feet were eliminated from the concept plan, lowering the cost of the project. The proposed plans call for the library's portion of the building to be over 3,000 square feet, a size that supervisors said may not be necessary if technology continues to move toward digital books.
The proposed 1,490-square-foot township office could be smaller as well, Farr said, estimating the size of the current Route 220 municipal building at about 700 square feet. "We don't need our office building any bigger than it is right now," Farr said.
Amanda Renko can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or email: arenko@thedailyreview.com.
