Foundation near goal of $2.5 million for expansion project.
By: Paul Sisolak
MONTGOMERY The Township Committee on Wednesday evening approved a donation of $240,000 to the Mary Jacobs Library Foundation in Rocky Hill for the expansion of the library building.
The funds will be divided into installments of $60,000 a year for a four-year period. Last year, the committee gave the library foundation $83,000.
Although the library is located in neighboring Rocky Hill, Brenda Fallon, president of the foundation, said Montgomery cardholders make up 82 percent of library patrons.
"Public libraries are very essential to any community’s life," she said. "The Mary Jacobs Library has become a resource for all township residents."
Ms. Fallon said another $250,000 was given by Montgomery beginning four years ago over a three-year period. Since then, the foundation has undertaken various fund-raising efforts to finance the cost of the renovation project. So far, $467,000 has been received from local residents and businesses. The state is expected to give an estimated $525,000, in addition to $800,000 already existing in foundation funds.
With Montgomery’s newest donation, the foundation will have $2.3 million in collected or committed funds. The expected total cost of the project is $2.5 million, said Ms. Fallon.
"Even when the building is completed, fund-raising will go on for the life of the library," she said, noting that the foundation would next approach Rocky Hill for a donation. So far, the borough has contributed $22,500 to the library project.
The expansion will double the size of the library, Ms. Fallon said. The reference and children’s areas will be expanded, new meeting rooms built and additional shelf space provided.
The foundation will put the contract out to bid next month and aims to break ground for the building in late May, Ms. Fallon said.
The petition to the committee Wednesday was accompanied by a presentation of architect’s drawings of the project by library branch director Mei Mei Morris.
Mayor Louise Wilson said the library is just as much a part of Montgomery as it is of Rocky Hill.
"It’s a very important feature of the community as a gathering place and as a resource," she said. "It is Montgomery’s library and it is highly valued."