Article reprinted with permission of the Community News. Article first published on June 10, 2005 .

Ground broken for new library

by GLENN GRIFFITH , Community News

After months of anticipation officials with the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library were finally scheduled to put shovels in the ground Thursday to mark the official start of construction for the community's new facility.

Members of the library Board of Trustees and representatives of local government planned to pose for photos as the shovels were eagerly pressed into the soft dirt

To mark the significance of the occasion and explain the deep connections between Halfmoon and Clifton Park, both town historians were invited to speak. Ellen Kennedy from Halfmoon and John Scherer of Clifton Park described the historic significance of the parcel to the community.

With the recent stretch of good weather, work crews have been preparing the site for the project's first phase, the foundation. Construction bids for the new $15 million facility were awarded three weeks ago. A lawsuit questioning the bid process is now in the hands of Judge Frank B. Williams in Ballston Spa.

The controversial 11-acre library site was purchased from the Tourtellot family earlier this year for approximately $400,000. Library Board of Trustees President Christene Thurston noted how the library purchase of the land fulfilled a wish from Elizabeth Tourtellot that her family's property be sold to a church, school or library.

'We'll build a library that will make the Tourtellot family proud,' Thurston said.

The two-story, 55,000-square-foot library will be built using the latest energy saving designs, technologies, and materials. In recognition of this fact, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) representatives Thursday presented the trustees with an incentive grant totaling more than $408,000.

Jean Donovan, a spokesperson for NYSERDA, said the money will be used to offset the added costs for putting efficiency measures into the building's design. It may also be used to pursue a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating if the trustees and architect decide to seek one.

Energy efficient advances save on energy costs. Some ideas being considered for the library are high efficiency lighting, cooling and air handling, additional building insulation and a digitally controlled building management system.

Donovan said the library can expect to save $55,000 per year in electrical costs if all the recommendations are put into the building.

Trustee spokesman Dave Golden said library officials got together with the building's architect and reviewed the NYSERDA materials.

'Some of the recommendations were seen as economically beneficial, while the payback on some of the others seemed to come a little too far down the road,' Golden said.

Library officials are hoping to open the building in the third quarter of 2006. An estimated time line for construction shows the foundation started by the second week of June, the steel frame of the building put up in the fall, and the shell completed around the frame by winter so work on the interior will be able to proceed during the colder months.

Construction progress can be followed by visiting the library's Web site, www.cphlibrary.org.

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