Colts Neck to celebrate new library’s dedication
By Mark Rosman
COLTS NECK — A dream will come true for the community at 11 a.m. Saturday when the new Colts Neck Library and Learning Center is dedicated at the municipal complex on Cedar Drive.
In a very real sense, this is a dream that has become a reality because of the efforts of the people who live here.
Spearheaded three years ago by a group that came to be known as the Colts Neck Library Foundation, residents and civic groups raised nearly $1 million in cash, materials, services and in-kind donations to pay for the building.
Today, the new 8,500-square-foot, two-story library and learning center stands ready to be put to use by residents of all ages. The new building will replace the library located in the old grange on Heyers Mill Road.
The new library will be dedicated in a ceremony that will begin at 11 a.m. Sat-urday. Music, entertainment, children’s activities, refreshments and more will be included in the morning’s festivities. Tours of the library will be part of the celebration. The music and activities will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the dedication.
"We’ve estimated that one-third to one-half of all the families in town contributed to our effort to build this library," said Thomas McClintock, the former mayor who kicked off the idea of building a new library in late 1997. "The effort is a testament to the public spirit and generosity of residents who made donations in all amounts."
The donations ranged from jars of pennies to five figures, and involved children and adults, he said. It included the sale of 1,400 commemorative bricks, at $100 apiece, that have been laid as walkways at the new building.
"We held everything from golf outings to concerts to raise money for the library," McClintock said.
Foundation officials said a library at the municipal complex was included in a 30-year-old master plan for the township. When McClintock left office in 1997, he resurrected the idea, with a personal donation, and a challenge to his neighbors to help build the library at no cost to taxpayers.
McClintock is now the chairman of the library foundation. Art Goodwin is the foundation’s president.
Architectural and construction expertise were donated, and the "Buy A Brick" sale raised $140,000. The bricks, engraved with the names of the individuals and groups who bought them, will become permanent walkways at the library. Windows, lumber products and plumbing equipment were also donated.
The state provided a $100,000 grant for fittings and furnishings; the Colts Neck Education Foundation donated $85,000; and the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders provided a $35,000 grant.
"The state and county grants made it possible to purchase furniture without additional fund raising," McClintock said. "The mission of the library foundation was to build the structure solely without taxpayer funds. Now, we can say that the building was paid for 100 percent by private donations.
"We have been told that if this project had been built by going through the normal municipal process, it would have cost about $1.5 million. We brought it in at a cash cost of slightly under $1 million," McClintock said.
The Colts Neck Library and Learning Center will be a branch of the Monmouth County Library System. The county provides the library staff, computers and books.
Handicapped access including an elevator, computers with Internet access, hand-painted murals, reference areas, meeting rooms, a children’s section and a reading room lit by a fireplace are some of the building’s features.

