The Allentown Public Library Association is celebrating its newfound debt free status. At left, Jim Ferdetta fills in the final segment of the Nix Our Debt campaign sign. Above, board members Joan Ruddiman, Marian Evans, Pat Brown, David Yundt, Karen Sensi, Cynthia Jones and Jane Giamo mark the milestone as Ferdetta (rear) looks on. ALLENTOWN – More than 40 years of debt has come to an end for the Allentown Public Library after a final fundraising push paid off a $250,000 mortgage.
In October, the Allentown Public Library Association — the nonprofit organization that oversees the library’s daily functions and ensures its services to the public — made the final mortgage payment on the its building on South Main Street. The historic structure that houses the library is a former Baptist church.
Joan Ruddiman, the association’s vice president, said the ability to raise the funds and successfully pay back all the money that was owed was a relief.
PHOTOS BY REBECCA NOWALSKI “This is a huge deal,” she said. “You borrow money and you pay it off as you are doing projects along the way. This was the last $250,000 loan.”
Ruddiman said the push to pay off the mortgage began in January when the association owed $45,000. Two friends of the library donated $13,000 to begin the stretch drive.
Since the association purchased the Baptist church at 16 S. Main St. after a fire gutted the structure and forced the congregation to find a new home, a series of repairs and renovations have been undertaken.
Ruddiman said the Allentown Public Library Association obtained a mortgage from a bank and from the Baptist church.
“What they had to show for it was a burned out sanctuary building,” she said.
Until last month, the association has relied on the community to pay off the mortgage while funding renovations and maintenance costs along the way.
Following the initial mortgage in the 1970s, Ruddiman said, the association has assumed additional debt to pay for various projects.
In the 1980s, Ruddiman said, the association accrued debt for a library stabilization project which primarily entailed the construction of a new roof, a firewall and the pouring of a concrete floor in basement.
In the 1990s, Ruddiman said, the association borrowed money to complete projects that would allow the library to completely use the former church as its main branch.
By the early 2000s, another mortgage was obtained and used to complete a number of cosmetic projects on the library’s interior and exterior surfaces.
Because the building is designated as an historic site, projects must adhere to certain guidelines that can raise the cost of improvements, Ruddiman said.
“When you have a 19th century building with a steeple it is a complicated building,” she said. “Like homeowners know, it takes money to maintain your building … and that is why we are constantly fundraising and have been taking on debt over the years.”
The association has been able to obtain grants and funding from other sources in order to complete its projects. One primary source of grants has been the Monmouth County Historical Commission, Ruddiman said.
“With that kind of help, we really kept the exterior integrity of a 19th century building,” she said.
The Allentown Public Library is a branch of the Monmouth County Library System. According to Ruddiman, the library operates under a public-private partnership.
The library system funds librarian salaries, books and children’s programs. The upkeep and other financial considerations are the responsibility of the Allentown Public Library Association since the building is privately owned.
Ruddiman said the next goal for the association will be to create an endowment fund to help pay for future projects and maintenance costs.
“We want the library to have economic stability so we are not constantly worrying about fundraising and all the things you do to raise money,” she said. “Like any big corporation or university … we want to make sure we are protected economically.”
To celebrate the payoff of the debt, a special gathering will be held in front of the library at 7 p.m., Dec. 20.
“We are really blessed because the people in the community are so generous,” Ruddiman said. “This could not be more of a community library. Everybody in the community really owns a piece of it.”