SEA BRIGHT — Just as the borough begins to move forward on redevelopment, the demolition of the J.W. Ross Cultural Center/Library has caused a rift between members of the Borough Council and library supporters.
Members of the Borough Council approved a resolution at the Feb. 4 meeting to fund architectural services for the design of a beach pavilion, which will house a new library.
But residents questioned whether proper procedure was followed in moving ahead with the demolition at a cost of $11,500.
“Who made the decision?” resident Charles Rooney III asked. “This situation leaves distrust in the management of this town by our elected officials. … There should be an investigation of how this happened in our town. Someone should be held accountable.”
Rooney questioned the discrepancy in estimates to repair the library. When the Borough Council voted to temporarily repair the library in November, a cost of $70,000 was estimated, but in December, the council announced that quotes had come in at $209,000.
On Dec. 17, the council voted to move forward with plans for the new beach pavilion, which will consist of a 5,200-squarefoot, two-story building. The first floor would include a 4,000-square-foot, state-ofthe art library.
The upper floor of the pavilion would house the lifeguard station, offices and storage.
The estimated cost for construction is $1.7 million, which Borough Administrator Joseph Verruni said would be funded through reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), insurance claims and funds from the beach access suit.
“The remaining balance would be funded through the beach utility,” he said.
The architectural services approved on Feb. 4 include $148,000 for preparing the design with floor plans and elevations, preparing a cost estimate and project schedule, and completing the necessary documents for public bidding.
Rooney argued at the meeting that the previous building was repairable, and demanded to know what official made the decision to demolish the building.
Councilman Read Murphy said the work had been scheduled for Monday but the contractor arrived on Jan. 11 to demolish the library.
“I will take responsibility,” Murphy said. “I was the one on council who knew.”
Members of the council also said the decision to demolish the building quickly was made so the work would be done prior to the repaving of the municipal lot, which is currently underway.
Mayor Dina Long said that while she would have voted against demolishing the library, now that it has been done, she will work collaboratively with the council on the new design.
“I think there are things we should have done differently. However, to suggest that the borough acted improperly in demolishing the library, I think is not fair or factually correct. They did follow proper procedure.
“As much as I don’t like it, I made my peace with it. I hope all of you who are committed to a library in Sea Bright will work together to make sure that we have a new library worthy of our town.”
In an interview, Long said the beach pavilion is the first major project since the storm, and the hope is that the building will provide a revenue stream.
“We are looking to create enough revenue to offset the debt service,” she said, adding that some ideas include adding a third-floor open space with a kitchen so the space could be rented for events.”
Liz von Ziegesar, chairwoman of the Sea Bright Library Committee and an advocate for the renovation of the library, complained that the council was focused on tearing down the building rather than the needs of the community.
“You forgot the wishes of the people. You forgot the seniors, the children, the teenagers who came in after school,” she said. “You forgot the 50 people a day, sixdays a-week who came in for books, CDs, DVDs, newspapers and a bit of gossip. You forgot the children’s reading programs, the adult computer programs, the ESL classes, the book clubs, the local artist exhibits.
“If you ever want to gain the town’s trust and support, you’d better give back something better than you took. Give us back a library, but more importantly, give us back a community before it’s too late.”