By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon Free Public Library (BFPL) is one of the oldest extant buildings in town, dating back to the early decades of the 1800s. The historic building has been both a blessing and a curse for BFPL: a blessing in that it links the library to the history of Brandon in a way that a modern edifice cannot and a curse in that the structure, originally built for commercial purposes, has never lent itself easily to its current life as a library. Its layout is awkward. Its uppermost floor cannot support the weight of books or even much activity. It’s not energy efficient. Most of the building remains inaccessible to those with mobility issues.
It was with these concerns in mind that the plan to renovate the library was devised several years ago.
Finally, on Sunday, June 4, BFPL broke ground on its long-awaited renovation. Dozens of people showed up to witness the first symbolic shovelfuls of dirt tossed by BFPL Board of Directors President David Roberts, BFPL Director Molly Kennedy, and Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, who came to show his support for the project (albeit without his trademark ponytail.)
Through dogged pursuit of private donations and grants over the last two years, BFPL had raised more than $2.1 million toward the renovation, far exceeding its initial expectations in a small town and almost entirely covering the anticipated cost of $2.5 million. The Board had given Naylor & Breen, its General Contractor (GC), the green light to go to bid—the stage of a project right before construction when the GC solicits bids from subcontractors for the various subparts of the overall work. However, the elation of success was short lived: in March, the lowest bids came back at a gobsmacking total of over $4.2 million.
THE ENTIRE LIBRARY family—Board, staff, architects, builders, and supporters—pose in front of the historic building about to undergo a major renovation, the first since the 1960s. Photo by Steven Jupiter
“The entire team was shocked,” said David Roberts. “We all felt like we’d been kicked in the gut. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. We’d already spent over $300,000 on architects, engineers, and consultants. One of our state grants even required that we pay for an archaeologist to come probe our property to make sure the construction wouldn’t disturb any artifacts. We could delay the project to try to raise the additional money, but it felt like the costs would only go up in the meantime. So, we made some tough decisions, scaled the project back, and plowed ahead.”
Adding to the dismay was the discovery of asbestos throughout the entire building. Abatement would require that the building be empty, and the major expense of opening and rebuilding every wall and ceiling was a large factor in the increased total.
In April, BFPL moved out of its historic home and into temporary digs in the Selectboard meeting room in the basement of the Town Hall. The Board began a series of painful meetings with Naylor & Breen and the project’s architects, Vermont Integrated Architecture (VIA) of Middlebury. What had been envisioned as a top-to-bottom, one-fell-swoop renovation was reimagined as a multiphase compromise that prioritized core services and put wish-list features on the back burner.
“The Board went through a tough process the last couple of months,” said Board Member Gary Meffe. “We needed to cut costs while preserving the meat of the project. This took many weeks of discussions and negotiations and resulted in our decision to eliminate some items and approach the project in three distinct phases, which should be more manageable.”
The first phase will entail construction of a new entry vestibule, a new restroom, and the addition of a basement-to-attic elevator, all of which are necessary to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The second phase will involve complete reconstruction of the first and second floors, which hold the library’s lending collection. The building will be brought up to the latest standards of energy-efficiency, patron comfort, and safety.
The third phase will convert the basement into activity space that can be used all year and the attic into a large meeting room that will be open to the community.
“Phases I and II will cost about $3.5 million, leaving us with a shortfall of approximately $1.4 million,” said Roberts. “We’ve secured a line of credit from the National Bank of Middlebury to complete these phases.”
To close the gap between available funds and the total cost, BFPL will continue to seek grants and donations.
“We’re pursuing several options simultaneously,” Roberts added. “There are no guarantees, but we’ve been pretty successful getting grants and are seeking out those opportunities wherever we can find them. We’re asking for significant money from the Vermont State Library renovation fund. We’re also considering asking for a special vote for a town bond. If we get the renovation grant, we can pay down the bond quickly.”
FOLKS WALKED THROUGH the now-gutted interior, where they were able to examine the architect’s plans. Photo by Steven Jupiter
BFPL will also be seeking additional private and corporate donations. Nifty Thrifty, National Bank of Middlebury, and Bar Harbor Bank have all donated significant sums, for example. The Friends of the Brandon Library have kicked in tens of thousands. And BPFL will be holding fundraisers whenever possible: a plant sale over Memorial Day weekend netted over $1600.
Tanner Romano of Naylor & Breen attributed the unanticipated price to “scope creep combined with rising construction costs.”
“The basic design hasn’t changed,” said David Roberts. “But the scope of what we have to do just kept expanding. Compliance with the ADA was our primary goal and isn’t cheap, but because we’re in an historic building, we’ve had so many extra expenses just to qualify for and comply with grants.”
Architect Andrea Murray of VIA said, “The increases in costs are industry wide. And in Vermont in particular, we have a shortage of labor. The tradespeople here tend to be older and expensive. We don’t have access to the labor pool that you have in more populated areas.”
Other current large-scale projects in the region come with hefty price tags as well. The Rutland Housing Trust’s proposed 24-unit apartment building in West Rutland will cost $11.5 million. The planned renovation of Ilsley Library in Middlebury is projected to cost over $14 million.
“Post-pandemic, everything is just so expensive,” said Roberts. “We knew costs were rising and tried to take inflation into account, but we were just not expecting the numbers we’re seeing.”
But on Sunday, as folks walked through the gutted building, the sense of accomplishment at having even gotten to this stage was evident in the smiles and the joyful pop of prosecco to toast the future of BFPL.
“Libraries are special, and this is a precious building,” said Murray. “We’ve really designed it to accommodate everyone.”
“It’s always been about accessibility,” said Molly Kennedy. “This whole thing is about accessibility.”
“We will figure out how to make this work,” said Roberts. “We really have no choice now but to keep moving forward. We plan to create something here that Brandon will be proud of.”
