Q: If the HVAC system is in such bad shape, why is it not being addressed in the project until the second phase?
A: Our anticipated project schedule was created before a significant portion of the heating and cooling system failed this summer. Our team is working to expedite the portion of the project that serves the second floor and mezzanine areas, and we are currently in the final stage of applying for a grant to help offset a portion of the cost. We realize that this part of our project is now a priority and cannot wait until Phase II of work.
Q: If Briarcliff Library can replace their air conditioning for $1 million, why is our proposed cost so much more expensive?
A: Our building is substantially larger than Briarcliff’s—more than five times the size—and our project includes the installation of both air conditioning and heating.
Briarcliff is only adding air conditioning.
Q: What kind of parking lot repairs are needed?
A: The parking lot will need to be repaired and repaved as part of the retaining wall and HVAC projects. That work will accelerate the breakdown of our already aging parking lot.
It will cost much less to do this work now than on its own a few years down the road. We will also use this opportunity to address several long-standing concerns:
- Our handicapped parking spaces are not only too far from the Library’s entrance, but the approach from these spots is not ADA-compliant.
- We are seeing ground subsidence in the lower lot and issues with our drainage system.
- There is no accessible access from the upper lots to the front entrance, forcing visitors with strollers or walkers to navigate the busy driveway.
- And the traffic circle…well, if you’ve ever tried to use it, you know it’s not at all functional.
This project would remove and replace the asphalt and subbase so that the lot and curbing are stable, eliminate the traffic circle and replace it with a turnaround area, reconfigure our handicapped spaces so they are code compliant and closer to the entrance, and add an accessible ramp from the upper lot to the front entrance.
Q: Why is only a portion of the retaining wall affected? How are you keeping an eye on the remaining portion that’s not affected?
A: The repair addresses the portion of wall that is showing signs of distress through ongoing surveying. The rest of the wall is regularly surveyed as well and has never shown signs of distress. We will continue to regularly survey the entire wall to ensure that the repair is successful and that no other portion of the wall is affected.
Q: Roofs generally have a 20-year warranty. Why aren’t the problems with the roof covered?
A: When the building was built, a 15-year warranty was chosen for the roof. In addition, there were problems with the installation of the roof that, we later learned, voided the warranty. For the renovation project, we are budgeting for a longer warranty and are committed to a level of project management and oversight that prevents incorrect installation.
Q: How can you best use the existing HVAC infrastructure to reduce costs for the new system?
A: The project will reuse much of the existing air distribution ductwork wherever possible. The new boiler and associated hot water system that was installed in 2021 is being retained and additional heat distribution is being installed.
Q: What are the safety and building codes you’re addressing? Are these critical to the operation of the building?
A: The size of the Mezzanine requires a second means of egress which will be accomplished by the extension of the fire stairs to that level.
Each floor is open to every other floor in our building causing a potential “chimney effect”, necessitating either a smoke purge system or renovations to close the open areas, which is the less costly of the two options. The open staircase from the 1st floor to the lower level is being removed and the two open areas between the two floors are being closed as part of the Teen Room and lobby portions of the renovation. The stairway between the 1st and 2nd floors is being extended to the lower level and fire safe enclosures are being installed on the first and second floors to prevent smoke from traveling up the stairs.
Handrails throughout the building and the ramp in the storage area are not code compliant. The project includes remedying those.
Many of the restrooms in the building are not code compliant and some are not handicapped accessible. These will be addressed as part of the project.
Q: What exactly are you doing about the heating and cooling system?
A: We are replacing our geothermal system, which relies on open standing-column wells and mechanical equipment that is failing, with a new HVAC system that will utilize air source heat-pump/chillers, radiant heating along the windowed curtain wall, and an additional gas-fired boiler (we currently have one), as well as new HVAC equipment to serve the entire building. To offset our energy consumption, we are also installing solar panels on the two flat roofs. The proposed systems will leverage air-source heat pump technology and will not be a geothermal system.