The Carnegie Library is getting plenty of renewed attention these days. It seems to come in cycles. It was only four years ago that Assemblyman Cahill acquired funding to refurbish the former library into a tech/learning facility. Which went nowhere since there was little cooperation between the City and the school board...But not this time.I am excited to think this may be the culmination of monies, people and the will to do something special in midtown. A renaissance if you will. The building couldn’t survive another winter without serious attention.
The library was constructed in 1904 to replace the original community library in City Hall across the street. It was among 1,600 public libraries built all over the US around the turn of the century, with money donated by Andrew Carnegie.
School Board member Jim Shaughnessy is the driving force behind the proposed renovation. He suggests tapping into school district CDBG funds to accomplish the task, but grant acceptance requires a learning component...Enter Evry Mann.
Evry Mann is the director of the Center for Creative Education in Stone Ridge and the large studio space on Thomas Street right here in Kingston where his organization's after-school programs serve more than 100 youths on a daily basis.As noted in the Freeman: The center runs three arts education programs in Kingston, including the Percussion Orchestra of Kingston (POOK); the Energy Hip-Hop Dance Company; and after-school arts programs at Washington and Kennedy. The plan is to continue using the Thomas St studio for younger students and utilizing the renovated Carnegie Building for High School students.
The City of Kingston has included a $50K allotment from the annual CDBG funding toward the renovation of the building. There was plenty of support for the funding at the Public Hearing this past Wednesday when the funds distribution was announced.Al Teetsel and I showed up during closing comments to witness a pleased crowd. Lowell Thing was one of the civilians from my district in attendance; from the smile on his face, he must have liked the proposal. Almost all of us Aldermen attended the numerous community development meetings this winter to hash out the final proposal. Thanks to Mike Murphy for guiding the group.
Between the state and federal sources, most of the funding will be secured, if not, there are other sources. Even with a zero tax impact, the renovation has to pass a public referendum in the fall.
I am definitely a YES vote.
