Dighton says a big yes to moving library to historic 1889 Smith Memorial Hall

DIGHTON —  Dighton Town Meeting voters approved a plan to place a new public library in the historic Smith Memorial Hall located at 207 Main St. by an "overwhelming" majority of voters.

Town Administrator Michael Mullen reported the measure was "overwhelmingly approved by residents at town meeting, by a loud voice vote."

"Everyone seemed to be very intent to see this approved. Everyone seemed to be very enthusiastic to address the long-standing community need to rebuild our library operations," Mullen said.

"It's a great plan to make a really incredible town library building."

Initial costs to move into the historic building, incorporating acquisition and building improvements, are estimated at approximately $2 million.

The Town Meeting on Monday, June 6 approved $150,000 out of capital stabilization funds to help foot that bill. The town will also be utilizing $790,000 of the town's $832,000 share of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, rather than town tax dollars, to help make the acquisition happen.

Other big ticket items

In other big ticket items on the town meeting warrant, the meeting also approved spending $210,000 out of Community Preservation funds to construct a new North Dighton playground, Mullen was proud to note.

The $24 million FY23 budget was also easily approved. But new regulations for solar electric generating facilities were not approved.

Timetable for big move

"But the highlight was the acquisition of 207 Main Street," Mullen said.  "The community rallied around the need to invest in their community."

He estimated it will be a two-year process to move the library into its new home. The acquisition will have to be posted in the Massachusetts Central Register for 30 days. Then it is hoped the closing will happen the week of July 18.

The first priority after those steps, Mullen said, will be the 207 Main St. exterior, specifically weatherization and work on the accessibility ramp and parking lot. These are the items the $150,000 appropriated at town meeting will fund.

In the fall, Mullen said, the selectmen will ask the Community Preservation Committee for more funds for the interior renovations.

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The town's 3,000-square-foot Carnegie library at 395 Main St., built in 1910, closed to the public in the fall of 2021 due to building code deficiencies and lack of a safe egress in case of emergencies. The town's library services now occupy the lower level conference room in the basement of town hall and a 720-square-foot modular building at the far end of the office building parking lot.

Only fraction of collection fits at temporary location

Youth Services Librarian Lorie Van Hook previously told the Taunton Daily Gazette she would welcome a new home.

"I'm looking forward to having a place where kids can really browse again and teenagers can hang out again," she said.

Van Hook's department now fills a single room in the town hall basement.

Fifteen to 20% of the library's children's and juveniles collection is stored at town hall, while the remainder stays housed at the Carnegie location. The parking lot modular unit holds under 10% of the library's adult collection, while the rest of these books and periodicals remain at the Carnegie. But staff regularly rotate which titles are at which location and will deliver to town hall any title a patron requests.

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"We try to make it all as accessible as possible," said Van Hook, noting she still conducts weekly Story Times and Tot Times for children under 3. But it's not the same as at the Carnegie location, she said. What used to be 15-18 youngsters per event now averages five to eight young attendees. The move has not increased her programming or storage space.

Cramped quarters and COVID distancing at odds

Library Director Jocelyn Tavares elaborated that since the move it has been a challenge to manage two locations. But it would have been much more of a challenge to reopen the Carnegie library after the advent of COVID. Town officials had a hard time deciding how to reopen a building with limited space under the new COVID protocols, she said. Finally, the decision to close it to the public was the best one to make.

"I'm looking forward to having a separate teen room, which we haven't had in over a decade. It'll be exciting to get all our systems up and functioning in a new location," Tavares said previously.

A new use for a historic property

A new location is just what town officials have in mind.

Late last year Selectmen and other town officials identified an opportunity to acquire 207 Main St., the "Father's House Family Church" property where the Smith Memorial Hall was constructed in 1889.

Mullen said selectmen have entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the property owner in hopes of achieving a cost-effective solution to addressing the town's library needs without impacting the local tax rate, at a fraction of the cost of the previously proposed $8 million addition to the current library, he said.

Moving to Smith Memorial Hall also allows the town "to preserve a valuable, historic property located in close proximity to the Wild & Scenic Taunton River," he said.

A recent presentation by the project designer Joseph Shea of Granite City Partners Real Estate noted that 207 Main St. measures a total of 9,014 square feet on two floors, compared to only 3,000 square feet for the Carnegie building. And that's not counting potential future programming space in the basement.

The building is already fire alarm compliant and partly ADA-compliant. It sits on a 34,848-square-fo site that includes 60-plus parking spaces. Its designer Alfred Smith also designed Newport, RI town hall.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Dighton Town Meeting OKs $150K for library move to Smith Memorial Hall