LITTLE VALLEY — A designated parking lot for the Memorial Library of Little Valley is still in the works, but two adjacent buildings must be demolished to make way for the new lot.
The buildings are located at 104 and 106 Rock City St. and unanticipated testing for asbestos at 104 Rock City St. has added to the price tag for its demolition, according to Linda McCubbin, library director.
She said that building will cost the library an extra $20,000 to test it and another $17,000 to tear it down and remove it.
McCubbin said the library’s board of trustees were not aware of asbestos in the building when they purchased it in February. The total cost – not including purchase of the buildings – is expected to be about $90,000 for demolition and parking lot construction.
According to McCubbin, the board of trustees first had the opportunity to purchase the building directly next door at 106 Rock City St. last winter, so they approached state Senator Catharine Young, R-Olean, for assistance to obtain money to buy the building and make a parking lot.
“We bought it and then we happened to run into Joshua Bryant, who owned the building at 104 Rock City St.,” she said. “He agreed to sell it so we bought it, but then the money we got through Senator Young wasn’t enough to take the buildings down because we didn’t know how much it was actually going to cost.”
McCubbin said the library got an increase in school tax, but that money went to its budget. She said this parking lot project is an above and beyond routine budget items.
“Because we need additional funds, we got a hold of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System (CCLS) and applied for a construction grant, which is a 25/75 grant. So, we are asking them for $70,000 and we will come up with about $25,000.”
According to McCubbin, the CCLS construction fund is the same fund the Salamanca Public Library received $267,000 from last year for renovation of its library.
McCubbin said they’ve made it through “round one” of the grant process and the library’s board of trustees is expected to know before the beginning of next year if the grant has been approved. However, even if approved, the money will not be released until July, she said.
“It’s very frustrating because we thought we’d be able to do something faster and it wouldn’t be this expensive. We really thought we’d be looking at an empty lot next door, by now,” she said. “If the grant comes through, it’ll be wonderful, but we’ll still have to come up with our share. We figure we’re going to need about $25,000 altogether to take care of incidentals including paving materials and paint for the parking lot.”
McCubbin said once it’s completed, the paved parking lot will benefit not only library patrons, but also the village itself. She said when the library is closed, the community will be able to use the parking lot.
“We will be sending out a building fundraiser letter to people in our local area,” she said. “The letter will include an artist’s rendering of the library and the two buildings as they look now, and a rendering of what the library and parking lot is expected to look like in the future.”
To help with the building fund, the library is currently holding several fundraisers including a Penny Drive and its annual Pecan Sale. McCubbin said they put jars out around town for people to donate pennies. She said, “It may seem small, but every dollar will go towards our $25,000 that we need to raise.”
McCubbin said the library’s Pecan Sale is held every year at this time. They take orders and call them in to Merritt Farms in Georgia. As soon as Merritt receives the orders, the pecans are picked, shelled and sent to the library in two weeks, so they are very fresh. People may order the pecans through a library board member or by calling the library at 938-6301 by Oct. 27.
(Contact reporter Deb Everts at salpressdeb@gmail.com.)
