Library building committee has new chairman

GREENFIELD — The library building committee has nominated a new chairman following the resignation of Jean Wall. 

Ed Berlin will now head the committee that is steering the way toward building a new library, using a $9.4 million state grant.

Wall was not present for the meeting, but the committee members who were there moved to acknowledge her work she has put in to get them to this point. 

The committee passed a resolution thanking Wall for her efforts.

Berlin, who is a library trustee as well, said at the brief meeting on Monday that everything was still on track for the building of the library. 

The Friends of the Library has been building public support of late after receiving word about the state grant. Earlier in the month, the City Council heard from the library building committee on the latest developments, as the city continued its decision process on a public safety complex.

The proposed public safety complex would merge the fire and police stations, along with a dispatch center.

The two projects are in part linked because the site for the new library would include where the existing fire station stands.

Library Director Ellen Boyer asked the committee to make sure the public had a better understanding of the proposal because of a couple misconceptions she has heard. 

The first misconception, she said, involves the building’s size. While the building’s exterior can be built to look smaller, the blueprint inside the proposed library cannot change, Boyer said. The grant money allows for the city to build a 26,800-square-foot library, which is not negotiable. 

Another misconception that is making the rounds is that the new library can be built without the fire station moving. Boyer said this is inaccurate. The fire station does need to move for the library to be built.

The committee agreed to now meet regularly on the third Thursday in the month as the process ramps up.