Planning and Design Project
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to view a document of Frequently Asked Questions (adobe .pdf format)
A Statement from the Board of Library Trustees
Questions and Answers about 2017 Fall Town Meeting
Q: When and where is the town meeting?
A: The Town meeting will be held on October 16, 2017 at 7pm at the High School auditorium. Doors open and registration begins at 6pm. Babysitting is available free of charge with the Girl Scouts at the Sutton Public Library from 6-9pm.
Q: What will voters decide on?
A: The Board of Trustees have put forward an article asking the town to raise and appropriate $11,190,985 for a new library building. If the article is passed then there will be a special election within 90 days where voters will be asked to approve a debt exclusion.
Q: How much will a new library building cost?
A: The total cost estimated for the new library building is $11,190,985. This includes construction, site work, professional services, furniture, fittings, and equipment as well as cost escalation and contingencies.
Q: How much will a State grant be?
A: Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) has granted the Sutton Library a provisional construction grant award of $4,979,584. We will receive an additional $174,285 Green Library Incentive upon receiving LEED certification.
Q: What will be the remaining cost to the Town?
A: The remaining cost to the town is $6,037,116. A Capital Campaign Committee has been formed with the initial goal of raising $500,000 to offset the town's portion. As of September 2017 they have raised $48,000. Fundraising will continue throughout the construction phase.
Conceptual Views
Here is a conceptual view of the Children's Room from our designer:
Here is a conceptual view of what the Library would like from the Front Desk:
July 14, 2017 - Press Release
Click here for the official press release
What does this mean?
We have received a provisional grant award which means that we have six months (until January 2018) to provide the funds needed to match the grant from the Board of Library Commissioners. The Capital Campaign Committee is ready to roll out fundraising in the next few weeks. Their initial goal is to raise $500,000 to offset the amount that the Town would have to appropriate.
Floor Plan
October 2016 Town Meeting Results
Both of the articles sponsored by the Board of Library Trustees passed unanimously at Town Meeting on October 17, 2016.
The next step in the process is to complete the grant application to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, due in January 2017.
Questions and Answers about 2016 Fall Town Meeting
Q: When and where is the town meeting?
A: The Town meeting will be held on October 17, 2016 at 7pm at the High School auditorium.
Q: What will voters decide on?
A: The library has two articles on the warrant, which will allow the Town to seek grant money from the State.
• To see if the Town will vote to accept the schematic design for the Sutton Free Public Library building located at Shaw Farm.
• To authorize the Library Trustees of the Sutton Free Public Library to apply for, accept, and expend any state funds which might be available to defray all or part of the cost of the design, construction and equipping of the library project.
Q: How much will a new library building cost?
A: Cost estimating hasn’t been completed yet, but the project range, in 2020 dollars is approximately $10-12 million.
Q: How much will a State grant be?
A: Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) grants are typically 50% or more for a project of this size, so $5- to 6-Million. Q: What are the library’s fund raising goals?
A: Fund raising goals are yet to be set, but we have hopes of raising up to $500,000 to offset the Town’s share of the cost.
Q: What will be the remaining cost to the Town?
A: Approximately $4.5 to $5.5 Million, in 2020 dollars.
Q: What happens if we get a grant?
A: Voters will be given an opportunity to vote for or against the Town’s portion of the cost at a future Town meeting.
Updates
June 2016
The Library Building Needs Committee is pleased to announce that the town has signed a contract with Johnson Roberts Associates, Inc. for designer services for a potential new library facility.
October 16, 2015
Click to read the building program: Sutton Free Public Library Building Program, October 2015 (adobe .pdf)
August 2015
August 14, 2015
The committee has received the first space projections and space needs assesment draft from our consultant.
Click here to view the files in .pdf format. Please note that these are the first draft.
August 17, 2015
The first drafts have been updated. Click here to view the files in .pdf format.
June 2015
The Library Building Needs Committee meets monthly to plan and execute the grant project. Currently the committee is contracted with a library consultant to prepare the building program for a potential new facility.
Sutton Public Library Planning and Design Grant Project
July 7, 2014
Press Release
Board of Library Commissioners Awards $50,000 Construction Grant to Sutton Free Public Library
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) recently voted to award the Sutton Free Public Library a provisional Planning and Design Grant totaling $50,000. The grant is part of the MBLC’s state-funded Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). "We’re grateful to the Governor and the Legislature for their recognition that libraries are a vital part of our communities,” said MBLC Chair Frank Murphy.
The MPLCP helps libraries across the state meet the growing demand for library services with expanded and improved library facilities. "Libraries are busy,” said Murphy. "But it’s no longer just about books. Libraries are where people turn for help with technology, for support starting a business or for help looking for a job. The role of the library as a true community center continues to evolve and these grants help communities take the first step toward projects that benefit every resident.” Since 2000, visits to Massachusetts public libraries have increased by nearly 60%, with more than 35 million visits to libraries and 56.9 million items borrowed in 2013 alone.
Twenty-eight library applications went through a rigorous independent grant review process. Libraries were selected based on many factors including community need, an understanding of future trends in library services, integration with the library’s long-range plan, support from local officials and a plan for community input.
Planning and Design Grants may be used for preparation of a library building program, architectural feasibility studies, engineering analysis of an existing building or alternative sites, schematic design, cost analysis of options, site investigation, and project management services. Planning and Design grants are capped at $50,000 or two-thirds of the eligible project costs and require local match funding of up to $25,000. Libraries must secure this local match by January 31, 2015 to accept their grant funding. These grants and the support provided by MBLC Library Building Specialists benefit libraries that anticipate applying for Construction Grants from the MPLCP in the future.
The Sutton Free Public Library, nestled in the heart of the historic small town of Sutton, is a vibrant, active community resource. The Board of Library Trustees and the staff work hard to make the facility warm, welcoming, and user friendly but there is a limit to what can be done with the extremely limited space that is available. The 3,100 square foot facility, last renovated in 1993, is inadequate for current collection and service needs. There is no room for expansion at this location which is in a shared facility with the municipal offices, fire station, and police station. "This grant allows us to explore our options for a new location and to perform the necessary site analysis and studies needed before we can apply for a Construction Grant in the future,” said Library Director Betsy Rajotte. "We are so grateful to the MBLC for this opportunity to start the planning process.”
In addition to Sutton, the following communities received provisional Planning and Design Grants: Amherst, Chester, Dartmouth, Dighton, East Bridgewater, Erving, Falmouth, Greenfield, Hadley, Kingston, Littleton, Lynnfield, Nahant, North Attleborough, Seekonk, Springfield, Upton, Westborough, Westford.
Funding for this grant round is made possible through a 2008 state bond authorization by the Patrick-Murray Administration and the Legislature. Library construction projects in Athol, Buckland, Dudley, Boston (the East Boston and Mattapan Branches of the Boston Public Library), Falmouth, Foxborough, Granby, Holyoke, Mashpee, Millis, Walpole, Westhampton, West Tisbury and Westwood were completed with MPLCP grants from the 2008 authorization in conjunction with local match funding. MPLCP projects are currently underway in Eastham, Edgartown, Everett (the Shute Memorial Branch of the Everett Public Library), Framingham(the McAuliffe Branch of the Framingham Public Library), Reading, Salisbury, Scituate, Shrewsbury, South Hadley and West Springfield. For more information please visit http://mblc.state.ma.us/.