Meeting addresses potential library expansion

Joshua Hamre, who launched the Facebook group Enfield Needs Change, was pleased to see such a large turnout for a meeting prompted by his group. Photos by Judy Henderson.

A large and diverse group of residents attended a Jan. 14 meeting to discuss the potential relocation and expansion of the town’s library - and if the level of interest is any indication, it will be likely be just the first meeting of many.

Moderated by John Foxx, who lives in Enfield and is a member of the Facebook group Enfield Needs Change, the meeting was prompted by Joshua Hamre, who launched Enfield Needs Change, which now totals 405 “friends.” Said Hamre, “It’s humbling to see this kind of response on a Saturday morning. I’m glad that this is something that is picking up steam.”

Indeed, there gathering information were many town officials, including Town Council members Tom Kienzler, an 18-year resident of Enfield who is now in his first year representing District 4; Bill Lee, an at-large Town Council representative whose involvement with the Enfield Revitalization Strategy Committee in various roles spans some 10 years; Library Director Henry Dutcher; Board of Education members Donna Szewczak and Tina LeBlanc; Shannon Grant, president of Enfield Foundation for Excellence in Education; Mary Scutt, Nathan Hale PTO president; Darren LaMore, chairman of the Enfield Revitalization Strategy Committee (a town board), as well as president of the Enfield Community Development Corporation (a private non-profit); and several members of the Friends of the Enfield Library Committee, including Committee President Rob Sweeney.

Also present were a number of Enfield residents active in various town initiatives, including Steve Moriarity, who heads the Enfield Clean Energy Committee; Getchen Ide, from the Mayor’s Advisory Council, and her husband Ben, who is both a librarian at the University of Hartford and a member of the Town Ethics Commission; and Amalita Grimes, who served on the library’s Long Range Planning Committee.

Also at the meeting were many Enfield residents - including whole families - committed to supporting the ongoing success of the Enfield Public Library. Said Mark Smith, who described himself as an ardent library patron, “I’ve just been so impressed since I’ve been here in Enfield. I think the library is a fantastic part of the community.”

The first and most obvious question asked was why the Enfield Public Library needs to be expanded at all - but the answer to that was as simple as it was compelling. Whereas most state libraries are upgraded every 20 years, the Enfield Public Library is now 44 years old and has never undergone a single renovation. Explained Library Director Henry Dutcher, “I recently had to remove 40,000 volumes just so we can fit in this building. I feel like I’m dismantling your library simply due to lack of space.”

Also questioned was the need for a move to another location; however, Dutcher noted that wetland and parking considerations, in combination with a new playground being donated to the town by the Rotary Club and built on land behind the library, will likely make expansion on the current site extremely difficult.

Inevitably, the discussion involved many questions and concerns about the timeline of the town’s high school consolidation effort now underway, for if and when that consolidation is approved, the Enrico Fermi High School building could potentially be repurposed into a new community center and library. Unfortunately, that’s a long way off. “At the most deliriously optimistic, we would not be in Fermi until 2019 - eight years from now,” said Dutcher. “Already, we have a completely inadequate space - and I do not use the term completely loosely.”

Town Council member Tom Kienzler was one of many who advised that moving forward with any expansion of the library will necessarily involve coordinating that effort with others already underway, especially the high school consolidation. “We need to interconnect all the plans into something that’s doable,” said Kienzler.

However, Amalita Grimes, who served on the library’s Long Range Planning Committee, voiced concern that sending residents out to develop a library expansion plan might not be the best way to go. “We came up with a plan for this library,” she explained, referring to the plan her committee submitted to the town several years back, noting that it is now obsolete, and wondering aloud whether anyone on the Town Council had even read it. She went on to advocate for greater involvement on the part of the Town Council and town manager.

Future library expansion meetings are destined to explore such issues in even greater detail, but as the meeting drew to a close, Shannon Grant offered a positive take on the morning’s discourse. “The real gem that we have here - and what will assure our success as a group - is our coming together in a consensus with goals for what we want to see in this town,” she said. “It’s great that so many key players and citizens were willing to come here today.”