The Plainsboro Township Committee has awarded a contract for construction of the township’s new library in the heart of Village Center, with groundbreaking slated for Monday, December 10, at 3:30 p.m.##M:[more]##
The committee voted 3-0 on November 7 to award the contract to H&S Mechanical of Elizabeth, which submitted the lowest base bid of $11,”870,”000.
But before voting, the committee reviewed the proposal and made some minor changes, including adding $51,”450 to the base bid by deciding to go with glass rails — instead of pipe rails — for the hand railings running along the upper floors in the library, after some safety concerns were raised.
The “pipe rails” or cable rails contain horizontal bars leading up to the hand rail. “It creates what the code world calls the ladder effect,” said Plainsboro Library Director Jinny Baeckler. She said she was concerned that children might climb the step-like individual bars and possibly fall over to the floor of the level below them. With glass rails, there would be no step-like pieces, but rather a solid glass wall with no visible barriers.
“This is falling on hard tile down one whole level,” she said. “I felt fairly strongly (the glass railing) would offer more solid protection.”
Mayor Peter Cantu said going with the pipe rails would leave the township “exposed” if such an incident were to occur, and the committee agreed to go with glass.
The total cost of the contract awarded is $12,”010,”225. The township received 10 bids for the project ranging from $11,”870,”000 to $16,”337,”107.
In August the Township Committee approved a bond ordinance appropriating $15.55 million to pay for the overall cost of the project, and the issuance of $13.93 million in bonds. The estimated cost of actual construction is $12.4 million. Additional costs covered by the bond ordinance include furnishings, technology, security, and professionals. Bid specifications went out in September, and bids opened on October 11.
The library, designed by Manhattan-based BKSK Architects and Baeckler, will be a three-story, 34,”000-square foot building in the heart of the new Village Center.
Baeckler said she was very excited to see the project take off. “All of the key things in the building are there,” she said. “A lot of planning has gone into this. We’re confident that the design fits the needs (of the library), and it’s full steam ahead now.”
The library staff is heavily involved with elementary science education, Baeckler said, and they view themselves “as solutions to the current problem that not enough kids are going into science for careers.” In addition to enhancing the library’s current science programs and art displays — another area the staff is passionate about — the new design also creates more space for a variety of uses, Baeckler said.
Oftentimes at the current library, the art gallery yields its space for community meetings, and people who might come to the library to view the exhibits sometimes are turned away if a meeting is in session, she said.
In addition, the library will feature a health education center and independent study rooms on the second floor, Baeckler said.
The health education center, funded by Bristol-Meyers Squibb and complete with an online database and print materials, will provide a tranquil environment for research, and people who are looking to find answers about medical conditions or illnesses won’t have to wait downstairs at the reference desk anymore, Baeckler said. “It gives you a calmness to handle whatever it is that’s coming your way,” she said. “It’s fairly unique. I don’t know of any libraries that have had this.”
The independent study rooms will be more accommodating to the public. First, the rooms can be signed out for the day, to avoid disruptions to those who need a quiet environment for a long period of time. Baeckler points to students taking online courses as an example. A lot of times, students will take their exams for those courses at the library, and staff members sometimes have to be bumped from their offices to create space.
Said Baeckler: “They’ll be in a room and have the door to close and not have to listen to anything that goes on” in the other parts of the library.
The new rule for the entire second floor is that there will be a mandatory absolute silence, Baeckler said. While she said she enjoys the liveliness and warmth generated by various programs held in the current library, the quiet floor will be welcomed. As the current library grew increasingly cramped, the former quiet rule was dropped.
“There’s a tremendous value in quiet, in having a place to study, and just collect yourself and not worry about anything, and we will be able to give that back to the people of the community who have been pretty patient with the current arrangement,” she said.
Extra meeting space, a community room (that can also be used after-hours) on the first floor, and a constant book sale area built into the basement are all features of the new library.
“We’re very excited about the finish and design of the community room,” Baeckler said. “You don’t have to be dragging out a projection screen. It is built into the walls and looks really lovely in the meantime.”
The program areas on the second and third floor for the library’s own programs will also make larger rooms more available for school operations, Baeckler said.
At the December 10 ground breaking, Tom Troy from Sharbell will be using a plow to scoop out the first few piles of dirt. Sharbell will be responsible for digging the library’s foundation, which is the first step, Baeckler said. She said officials are hoping to have the library open in the beginning of 2009.
