May 2009

Given the concerns of transparency expressed during the last library board election, I thought it important to let the citizens of Smithtown who may not be aware of library events know what has transpired since that election.

As many are aware, the original plan that was part of the referendum voted on and approved by the citizens of Smithtown would turn the abandoned armory building into the new Nesconset branch, with the vacant second floor being utilized as library office space in order to allow the current offices in the main Smithtown building to be freed up for additional space for the patrons of that branch. The problem with this has been that two members of the library board of trustees, June Carlson and Eric Johansson, have been bitterly opposed from day one to moving the library offices to Nesconset, because of their feelings that “Smithtown is the main branch and that is where the offices should be”. Regardless of the fact that this would result in less space available for the patrons of the main branch and wasted space in Nesconset, these two have been adamant of this all along to the point that it was revisited again last year (at various points in time there were attempts to have the second floor of the armory building removed completely, then to leave it unfinished in spite of testimony from the architects that this would cause a huge energy loss). However, after testimony from the project architect during a Sept. 16 meeting indicating that these changes made no sense, the board again voted to stay with the existing plan.

In the election of last October, Erica Rinear, who was president of the board of trustees, decided not to run for reelection, and Bruce Ettenberg was defeated in his run for reelection. Elected in their places were Rose Palazzolo and Carolyn Ciarelli. This resulted in a shift in power on the board, and almost immediately Mr. Johansson was elected by the board as president.

The plan was revisited yet again, this time resulting in delays and ultimately the following changes: The library offices for the most part are to remain in the main branch, with the exception that Info Tech services is to take up approximately 600 square feet of the space on the main floor of the Nesconset branch that was originally to have been used as space for library patrons, while the second floor is now to be rough finished but remain empty, unused, and wasted. This would certainly fit into the thought process that resulted in Mr. Johansson’s question at one board meeting last year:  “Why did the Nesconset branch have to give up less space than the other branches?” after the first proposal was defeated.

$33,000 was then spent on having the architects redo the plan for the Smithtown branch in order provide additional bracing for future second floor expansion. The plan for the Nesconset branch initially included plans for airlock double entrance doors to provide for energy efficiency. These have now been eliminated, saving $70,000 which will now be allocated for the second floor bracing in the main branch, to be utilized for future expansion at additional cost to Smithtown taxpayers.

As a result of all of this, not only has the space to be made available to patrons of the both the Smithtown and Nesconset branches been reduced, and additional money spent on architect plans and future expansion, but the buildout, which was originally planned to have been started by late this month or early next, has now been pushed out to June at the earliest. Given that we are now spending approximately $150,000/year to the landlord for the substandard space the Nesconset branch currently occupies and the annual debt service on the bond taken out to finance this buildout is $1.74 million, it is clear that any additional delays are extremely costly to the taxpayers of Smithtown.

It seems clear to me that it is time to let the board of trustees know that they need to put their petty personal agendas aside, and instead focus on doing what is right for the citizens of Smithtown and displaying some fiscal responsibility. I urge all citizens to question these actions and demand accountability from the board.

Jim Bartunek
President, Nesconset Taxpayers Association