Grant funding that is needed to help reopen the Tinton Falls Public Library remains on hold while municipal officials continue to discuss their options.
The library, which closed in August of 2017 after mold was discovered, is housed in a building at 664 Tinton Ave.
Tinton Falls officials reported that mold was discovered in a trailer behind the building. The trailer was being used for various purposes. Mold was also found in the basement of the building, which is a former home, and on the first floor.
Municipal officials have said they plan to apply for a New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act grant to fund a portion of the costs that would be incurred to renovate and repair the building. However, they said an application for a grant has been unavailable for reasons that are unclear to them.
The Tinton Falls Public Library is an independent organization and is the only tenant in the building, which is owned by the borough.
“The library is gearing up for some fundraising, but that begs the question, what is going on with the grant applications?” Councilwoman Nancyanne Fama asked during the Jan. 8 meeting of the Tinton Falls Borough Council.
Borough Engineer Thomas Neff said state officials have once again delayed the release of the grant application that was originally scheduled for release during the summer of 2018. He said the release of the application was pushed to the fall and is now scheduled for release this spring.
Until the grant application is released, Neff said, no further action can be taken at the municipal level.
“The architect the library (board) chose (to address the issues) is working on the concept plans, at least,” he said.
Fama asked if the release of the grant application could be delayed again and Neff said, “hopefully this should be the last postponement, but we don’t know that for certain.”
Business Administrator Mike Skudera said the library may not be able to reopen until later in 2019.
“We talked about this as a risk, but now this is actually happening,” he said.
Councilman Brock Siebert asked if anyone has visited the building to determine if conditions are deteriorating further.
Neff said he had not been inside the building recently. He said he would check with the Department of Public Works to see if anyone has evaluated the current condition of the building.
Councilman Christopher Pak asked what the council’s options would be if the grant application process is delayed beyond the spring.
“This was really the library board’s choice,” Fama said. “At this point, I think (board members) have opted to wait and see what happens.”
Skudera said the members of the library’s Board of Trustees want to wait and apply for a grant.
Previously, Skudera said borough officials have allocated $150,000 from the municipal budget to fund repairs to the library. He said $37,000 was allocated from the New Jersey Library Association. Skudera said he anticipates the state could match that combined total of $187,000.
Once an application for a grant is submitted, Skudera said, it is possible the grant could be denied by state officials. He said if that occurs, the cleanup would be carried out with the funds reserved from the budget and the library association.
According to a Jan. 16 update on the New Jersey State Library website, “The New Jersey State Library has continued to work on various iterations of documents which will be needed for the Library Construction Bond Act so that we may be ready when the bonds are issued.
“At this time, there is no news on when the bond act will begin to be enacted … The New Jersey State Library is waiting on direction from the Governor’s Policy Office as to when we may begin to move forward,” the update states.
On Jan. 17, Joe Libutti, chief of staff for state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), whose district includes Tinton Falls, said the New Jersey State Library and the president of Thomas Edison State University need “to agree upon rules and regulations before distributing funds.”
Libutti said the next step in the process would require Gov. Phil Murphy to provide his stamp of approval on the rules and regulations that involve the grant. Additional steps will be needed to get the money flowing, he said.
“There are just a lot of government entities touching this,” Libutti said.
He said the grant application could become available in the late spring or early summer.