Article reprinted with permission of the Community News. Article first published on July 28, 2006.

Library construction on schedule

by Glenn Griffith, Community News

Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library is within budget and officials are looking forward to a November grand opening.

Library trustee and public spokesman Dave Golden said the Moe Road structure should be finished by Sept. 1.

The following two months, according to Golden, will be spent testing the building's machinery, obtaining its "green certification," installing custom shelving, purging the building of construction gases, obtaining a certificate of occupancy from the town, getting final construction sign-off from all contractors, and installing furniture.

Then the collection must be moved from the present Wall Street location. Bids for moving the books and assorted pieces of furniture went out this week.

Golden credited construction company Bovis Lend Lease and architect William Connors for doing an excellent job estimating the building's construction costs.

"We did get lucky with the timing," Golden said. "We got the bids before Katrina. But I think our building committee also did a thorough job in preparing. We're hands on managers. We meet with them every two weeks."

Golden said library director Josephine Piracci stays in constant touch with the construction site's progress.

The 55,000-square-foot building and its 10.9-acre Moe Road location were controversial. It took two votes by residents to approve the site. The building's size was also reduced by 13,000-square-feet from original plans.

Golden said there were some concerns with copper prices prior to the bids coming back but to date the project is on target with estimates or less than expected.

One of the library's technological innovations available to the public will be a "green" screen in a kiosk inside the building.

The screen will allow users to see which systems are working in the building at any time and how much is being saved due to the building's environmentally sensitive construction.

Other are construction projects have not been as fortunate as the library in the bidding process.

Bids for Shenendehowa's Shatekon Elementary School came in $3 million over expectations and bids for the district's 11 middle school classrooms and swimming pool are also $3 million over.

Halfmoon officials are in the process of bidding out their new town hall project.

They are concerned the 2004 estimate of $6.9 million may not hold up in today's volatile construction market.

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