FANWOOD – With the new library set to open on Memorial Day weekend, the borough council this week approved a contract with a vendor to install shelving at the new facility and expects to approve a contract next month for furniture.
Mayor Colleen Mahr said construction of the library, located within the triangle formed by North Avenue, Tillotson Road and Forest Road, is “moving along really nicely” and that the grand opening of the $8.2 million facility “is still on track” for Memorial Day weekend. Since construction began a year ago, the library has operated from trailers on the north side of the train station.
Besides awarding the shelving contract at its business meeting on Tuesday, the council briefly discussed a survey the library is planning to send to residents about its operating hours and how the new facility will be used. After Councilman Jeffrey Banks, the council’s liaison to the library, mentioned the survey, Mayor Mahr and others on the governing body were unclear about the reasons for the survey. Borough Administrator Jesse Moehlman said the library’s operating hours are not as extensive as other towns in the area. Councilman Anthony Carter noted that state library regulations require local libraries to be open at least 30 hours per week. “I have some questions,” the mayor said, and told her colleagues she will speak to library director Dan Weiss about the survey and its purposes.
In other business, the mayor said that she and Mr. Moehlman met last week with officials from the board of education to discuss the planned September bond referendum to finance a variety of items related to the increase in the student population and classroom space constraints. First and foremost is the board’s potential purchase and refurbishment of the 36,000-sq. ft. First Children School on La Grande Avenue, which was formerly a board of education building before being purchased by Children’s Specialized Hospital in 1985. It has not functioned as a public school since the board shut it down in 1977, a move that newspaper archives show was met with contention from residents as it was the only school building located in the borough.
The mayor said the board is getting set to submit details about the referendum to the state department of education, which first needs to approve it before it can be placed on the ballot. The plans call for converting the La GrandeAvenuebuildingintoa32-classroom facility with a gymnasium that could accommodate pre-K to fifth grade students. The Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District had 5,544 students in the 2022-2023 school year, a sharp increase from the 5,320 students in the 2020-2021 school year, according to the state Department of Education.
At the start of the meeting, 10-yearold fourth-grader Alexa Scolavino was given a certificate of recognition by Mayor Mahr “in honor of all your hard work” after the youngster raised $400 for the fire department, after raising $200 last year, through sales of hot chocolate. Fire chief John Piccola thanked Miss Scolavino for her efforts, saying he “really, really appreciated” it and that the funds raised were used in part to buy winter hats for firefighters.
Chief Piccola also honored firefighter and former fire chief Russ Hamill for his 50 years of service and presented him with a plaque. Mr. Hamill’s son and grandson were in attendance for the presentation.
The meeting began with Councilwoman Gina Berry reading a proclamation declaring February as Black History Month. The council’s next meeting will be a work session on Monday, March 4.
