Finding a reasonable, low-cost way to make the old library accessible continues to elude the Old Library Accessibility Committee. The group met Aug. 10 to discuss the results of architect member Wendy Cote-Magan’s investigation of three options discussed at its May meeting. Cote-Magan reported that one option was too expensive and that the other two may be too difficult to implement given the property boundary lines and the location of the doors being accessed.
The committee is trying to keep the cost of the proposed improvements under the amount that would trigger making the entire building fully accessible. The state’s Architectural Access Board (AAB) defines that trigger as one-third of the building’s full and fair cash value, which is $321,990, setting the budget at about $107,000.
Option 1: Too expensive
At its May meeting, the committee favored the option of a ramp that would run parallel to the existing stairway, make a turn, and meet the stairway at a common landing that would be level with the building’s first floor. A new door and vestibule would be created to provide access from that landing. This was considered the most attractive option because everyone would use the same entrance, but last week Cote-Magan told the group that when she walked through that option with two builders, both agreed that the cost would greatly exceed the $107,000 limit.
Option 2: Space is tight
Cote-Magan also looked into installing a temporary or permanent ramp along the building’s north side that would provide an entry through an existing first-floor door. She said that although the option would probably fit the budget, it presented other difficulties. For one thing, she said, the ramp might not fit between the existing basement emergency exit stairway and a resident’s driveway on the building’s north side. Also, the elevation of the lot drops off on the building’s north side, and a ramp might be uncomfortably high by the time it reaches the door.
Option 3: Difficult entryway
The best option of the three, Cote-Magan said, is to create a gently sloped path to the old library’s back door. But there may not be enough space at the back doorway to meet AAB regulations because the neighbor’s property line is very close to that doorway. Some committee members had another problem with this option: The back door would open directly into the large basement room (as it does now), and people crossing the room to the elevator could disrupt meetings or activities. Cote-Magan said that a passageway to the elevator could be created, but it would increase the project’s cost and decrease the basement room’s floor space.
A fourth option
Selectman Ken Swanton brought up an option first proposed by Town Administrator Tim Bragan last year: a temporary ramp to the existing main entrance. Swanton said that although the metal ramp’s appearance would detract from the building’s appearance, the cost was less than $20,000 when Bragan priced it in 2015. Committee members were unsure if that amount included the work necessary to make the door accessible, and Swanton volunteered to get that information by the group’s next meeting.
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace added that the committee should have a better understanding of the property boundaries since those boundaries currently limit two other options. She said that determining the boundaries would likely cost money and that the selectmen would have to approve funding for that investigation.
The four-member committee was appointed by the selectmen in 2015. Its members are Chairman Mark Mikitarian, Cote-Magan, Wallace, and Swanton, who replaced former selectman Leo Blair. The committee’s goal is to have an accessibility recommendation for the selectmen before they create a request for proposals for the use of the old library, currently scheduled for November.
