BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
Ocean Township OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Plans to complete the township’s new library are moving forward even though litigation between the contractor and the township has not been settled.
Township’s Business Administrator David Kochel said last week, “There were major problems dealing with the contractor, M&K Contracting of Colts Neck. We thought we had come to a conceptual agreement, but there are glitches. There are no signed documents yet.”
Last Friday, he explained that the township is still moving forward on work to complete the library.
“Public works employees, with the assistance of Board of Education employees, are resolving a lot of punch list items that the architect outlined, predominately in the new construction, but also in the three rooms directly off the new construction in the old house.
Kochel explained that they have to make sure that all of the code requirements are satisfied, like the fire suppression system which has to be operational in both areas.
“We’re taking one step at a time. We don’t have a projected dedication date.”
Kochel said that the 19,700 square-foot library is substantially complete.
The project includes a 10,700-square-foot addition on to the 9,000-square-foot, 100-year-old farmhouse off Deal Road. The addition will allow the library to display a significantly larger collection and add space for related activities.
The recent purchase of the 42-acre library site will benefit the already existing Joe Palaia Park adjacent to the site and bring the total acreage of the park to 250 acres.
The current library holds an 88,000 book collection. The move will also bring the library into the Monmouth County Library System as a branch.
According to Kochel, the new library will serve the township as an activity hub offering meeting rooms, a conference room, a lecture sitting area to accommodate speakers and activity rooms for children.
It will be more than four times larger than the existing library, which is on the bottom floor of the Municipal Building at Deal and Monmouth Roads.
The addition will be considered a more active section of the library, designed to accommodate children’s activities, the circulation desk and a collection of adult and children’s books.
The existing library will be used for less demanding activities. The library’s periodicals will be in that section and large parlors with fireplaces are designated for use as reading rooms or meeting rooms with the kitchen and a storage room to house older periodicals and newspapers.
Kochel explained that the $3.1 million project was funded with $2.3 million from the sale of the 20 acres on Park Avenue; bonds; $628,186 in state grants and $40,000 in private donations.
The property, which is east of Route 18 and north of West Park Avenue, sold for $2,232,000. The proceeds will be applied toward the township’s share of the price of the 42 acres of the Terner property and the construction of the library.
The township has already received an $830,000 green acres grant which covers 50 percent of the cost. In addition, the township received a grant in excess of $600,000 from the New Jersey State Library.

