BERNE — The library took a step toward its new home at last Wednesday’s town board meeting.

Carol Anderson and members of the library board told the town board that they plan to apply for a matching-funds grant for construction of a new building on town-park property. Strapped for space, the library is currently housed in the same building with the town hall offices and the Berne museum.

The Upper Hudson Library System has $441,000 to distribute among its 23 libraries from a $14 million state-wide grant, Anderson said. Of the 23 libraries in the system, she expects that eight will submit applications for the grant, which is targeted for rural library construction projects.
"This is a very promising grant for the library because it’s not very competitive," Supervisor Kevin Crosier said.

In order to apply for the grant, which is due Nov. 15, Anderson said that the town must officially designate the land for the building site, commit any additional funds that the town thinks is appropriate – since the library can apply for twice what it has in hand, and show in the minutes that the library has permission to proceed.
"I’m pretty impressed," said town board member and library liaison, Joseph Golden, praising the work of the library. "I take a nap after I read the minutes," he said, referring to the record of their work. The library has 29 people divided into four committees, Anderson said.

The board voted unanimously to commit an additional $50,000 to the library project in a capital fund. The town had given the library $50,000 earlier and the library raised $30,000, so it will be able to apply for $260,000 in the grant.
"You’ll get more bang for your dollar," said Crosier.

The board also voted unanimously to officially designate the 300-by-300 foot parcel in the town park, as described in the preliminary plan, as land for the library.

The funding will be awarded on Feb. 1 and construction has to start within six months and be completed by June 30, 2009, according to specifications in the grant, said Anderson.
"Congratulations, library," said Crosier after the last vote.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Voted unanimously to allow Berne to enter into an agreement with the Upper Hudson Library system;

— Voted unanimously to re-bid for a solid waste compactor;

— Voted unanimously to adopt a preliminary budget, which includes a 28-percent tax increase. "The big one there is the highway," said Crosier. The town has added $246,000 to the highway budget, a 29-percent increase over last year;

— Set a public hearing date for the budget for 6 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the town hall; and

— Considered making a local law that would require members of the zoning board of appeals and the planning board receive a certain number of hours of training before being allowed to serve.