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Work on the new Westhampton Free Library remains on budget though the facility’s grand opening date still has not been pinned down due to construction delays caused by June’s soggy weather.
Work on the $7.8 million project, which started last October with the demolition of the 100-year-old former library on Library Avenue in Westhampton Beach, was originally expected to be completed in the spring of 2010, according to Matthew Bollerman, the director of the Westhampton Free Library.
But Victor Canseco, the owner of Sandpebble Builders, the Southampton company charged with building the new 14,250-square-foot structure, said that while Memorial Day is still the target date, the grand opening might be pushed back until early summer. He blamed the delay on the weather, noting that it rained 25 days in June when crews were focusing on the exterior of the building.
“June was an impossible month,” Mr. Canseco said. “We’re not far behind schedule, but I don’t want to say anything for sure. When you’re still weather-dependent, it’s hard to tell.” The company will have a more concrete date in November, he added.
As of early September, the exterior of the building had been sealed and all of the windows installed on the two-story structure. Crews were starting to install the siding this week, Mr. Bollerman said. “We’re moving along quite well,” he said.
Mr. Canseco said he intends to finish the siding installation this fall so crews can work on the building’s interior during the winter months.
The builder also said that the project will “definitely” come in under budget.
Library trustees are pleased with the progress that is being made on the future home of the Westhampton Free Library, which services residents from Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Quiogue, Remsenburg, Speonk, East Quogue, Eastport, East Moriches and Manorville.
“We worked hard for that to happen,” said library trustee Hank Tucker, who also sits on the Westhampton Beach Village Board. “The residents are going to benefit immensely.”
Library employees got the chance to walk through the unfinished building a few weeks ago, right after it was deemed waterproof, said reference librarian Jay Janoski.
“It was like looking at a drawing,” he said when describing what it is like to imagine where everything would go inside the new building. “We’re all really excited.”
The new library will also have a 15-kilowatt solar panel system installed on its roof. The device is powerful enough to supply 7 percent of the building’s energy needs, Mr. Canseco said. Construction workers are also sticking with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for the new library. That means the building’s electrical needs will be reduced by about 28 percent, and its carbon dioxide emission levels will be low.
“We’re hopeful to get gold certification,” Mr. Bollerman said, referring to the highest level awarded.
To secure LEED certification, the building has to meet certain regulations for light fixtures, faucets, paint and carbon dioxide levels.
“A green building is more than putting the solar panels on the roof,” Mr. Canseco said.
Library officials, however, will have to wait until construction is completed before applying for such certification. Tests must be run and paperwork filed, all ensuring that the building meets the green requirements. Certification usually takes about six months, Mr. Canseco said.
“[LEED] is very strict and they don’t want any building that looks like it’s green,” he said, noting that there are very rigorous tests to check the energy efficiency of a structure.
Westhampton Beach Village Hall was the first building in Suffolk County to obtain LEED certification. Even though the building was finished in 2006, official certification did not come until nearly three years later—in August—because of paperwork delays.
The original Westhampton Free Library closed its doors on September 6, 2008, and was supposed to relocate to a temporary, 5,040-square-foot modular trailer across the street on September 22, 2008. That move was delayed for four weeks after officials found petroleum contamination at 28 Library Avenue, where the temporary trailer now sits.
The demolition of the old library at 7 Library Avenue and its annex took place last October. Asbestos from the old library, which was built 100 years ago, had to be removed before the building could be knocked down.
Officials said despite the cramped corners, the trailer has been very busy—almost as busy as the library building would have been if it were still standing.
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