Major library renovations complete

LYNN – The renovation of Lynn Public Library has been completed, with the exception of three outside lights and a railing for the front steps.The work, which was done by Belmont contractor Eagle Point Builders, began last April and finished for the most part in early December with the pouring of a concrete walkway around the library.?This contractor for this (work) is done. We?re just waiting to finish out the paperwork,” said Michael Donovan, city inspectional services chief and building commissioner.Donovan said the contractor did a good job on the project and greatly improved the cleanliness of the library?s exterior limestone walls. However, he took issue with the duration of the work.?It was a 90-day project that took 180 days plus,” he said. “It was a small company that overextended themselves, frankly.”Library Director Theresa Hurley said she is pleased to see the renovations near the end.?It went longer than I had expected, but I?m just glad it?s done. I was given the job in February and it started in April, so it was all new to me,” she said.The renovations on the library include new granite front steps, repairs to the skylights, waterproofing the roof and installing an electronic door to the existing handicap entrance.Donovan said the base contract for the project put the cost at $456,000, but after some extra charges throughout the construction, the final total for the project is around $560,000. The money came from the sale of three former library branches in Lynn.Hurley said the most noticeable change to the library – and the one she is most proud of – is a handicap entrance to the children?s room. For 15 years before she became director, Hurley was a children?s librarian in the building.?It?s great to see moms with the carriages, and we?re not helping them up and down the stairs,” she said.The work on the three outside lights, which are the two lampposts by the front stairs and the wall light above the children?s room, will be done by another contractor, Donovan said. Hurley estimated the lights have been there since the early days of the 111-year-old library. The light above the children?s room will be refurbished, Donovan said, and it is yet to be decided whether the lampposts will be repaired or replaced with similar lights. Donovan said he is waiting on the cost of new fixtures from the lighting vendor and then the project will be put out to bid. The job could potentially cost $10,000 to $15,000, he said.Although there is currently no funding, Hurley and Library Board of Trustees Chairman Janet McGough said they recognize that repainting the library?s interior and replacing the building?s electrical system are necessary projects in the long term.?The electrical system, I swear to you, goes back to Thomas Edison. We cannot plug in another fan in the summertime, another computer or anything,” McGough said. “It?s at its capacity and it?s old.”McGough said an overhaul of the electrical system would be an “overwhelming job” and she does not know where any potential funding would come from because the undertaking would be so expensive. The Board of Trustees, she said, is presently concerned with the recent renovations and any future major repairs would take a substantial fundraising effort.Hurley said it has been a long time since the library?s interior has been fully repainted.?To be honest, I?m not sure the last time this has been painted. ? But I?ve been here 17 years and it hasn?t happened in my time,” she said.However, Hurley said she would still like to celebrate the library?s recent makeover with a grand reopening event, possibly in conjunction with the library?s 112th birthday on April 4.?Maybe the grass will be in by then,” she said.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].