Article reprinted with permission of the Times Union. Article first published on June 10, 2005 .

Bitterness buried as towns ready library

Clifton Park, Halfmoon break ground on their facility's contentious site

by Dennis Yusko, Staff Writer

Before picking up shovels for the new Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library on Thursday, officials from both towns buried the hatchet.

It's time to put aside the disagreements over the library's location on Moe Road, and come next fall, it'll be time to enjoy the $15 million facility, they said at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony.

"We have been through some tumultuous periods. I hope they are passed," said Halfmoon Supervisor Kenneth DeCerce, standing at the site he long opposed as being too far from his town.

The narrow rejection in 2003 -- and approval in 2004 -- of the 55,000-square-foot library fractured relations between the towns and among residents within them. But Thursday marked a time to celebrate the start of a new era in southern Saratoga County, town leaders said.

"It's time for us to move forward," Clifton Park Councilman Sanford Roth said. "To say this had its ups and downs would be an understatement," but that's in the past and the new library will serve as a great asset to both towns, he said.

There are signs, however, that some bitterness remains.

A homemade placard on a pole near the present library on Clifton Country Road reads, "Remember, 3,553 Said No." Last month, Colonie-based E.W. Tompkins Inc., with the support of the non-union group of builders named Associated Builders and Contractors, sued the library's board of trustees for seeking mostly union workers on the project.

The suit is being heard by state Supreme Court Justice Frank Williams in Ballston Spa, who ruled against stopping the nine bids that were recently awarded.

In September, residents, voting 3,782 to 3,553, agreed to build the two-story facility.

The library announced Thursday's groundbreaking less than 24 hours in advance. They recently purchased the nearly 11-acre site from Elmer Tourtellot, whose family owned the land since 1859.

Tourtellot's mother, Elizabeth, told him that if the former farmland was ever to be sold, it should be for a church, school or library.

"I can promise you Elmer, we will honor your mother's wish and build the best library we can," Board of Trustees President Christene Thurston said.

About 50 people attended the ceremony, including past and present library board members, members of Friends of the Library and staff members.

Prior to pushing a ceremonial pile of dirt, library officials announced that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority would offer $408,138 in incentives to make the facility New York's first "green" library. Design measures such as high-efficiency windows and cooling, additional insulation and special lighting will save the district $55,000 a year in energy costs, according to NYSERDA.

The Southern Saratoga County YMCA will buy the present Clifton Park-Halfmoon library. Among the potential uses for the building would be moving its administrative offices there from Colonie.

The Town Board approved rezoning Moe Road for the library. A planned unit development will allow the facility to be built in the residential area.

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

Return to June 2005