East Hampton Library to work with Springs to increase services outside East Hampton Village

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With the East Hampton Library’s proposed children’s wing expansion still bogged down in a lengthy hearing before the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals, residents of Springs are beginning to ask how they can receive better library services in their hamlet.

Those concerns found a sounding board at the November 17 meeting of the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee, which was attended by Dennis Fabiszak, the library’s director, who tried to answer residents’ questions.

The East Hampton Library collects taxes through the East Hampton School District, the Springs School District and the Wainscott School District. Springs residents pay a total of $234,000 in library taxes to use the East Hampton Library, Mr. Fabiszak told the committee. Springs also has a small library of its own, which shares the home and staff of the Springs Historical Society and is open only two hours a day on weekdays and four hours on Saturdays.

Mr. Fabiszak said the East Hampton Library has given the Springs Library computers for its staff, internet access, and at times, surplus books. Mr. Fabiszak said that Springs residents account for about 35 percent of the East Hampton Library’s patronage.

Henrika Conner, chairwoman of the CAC, said many ideas have been discussed in the past, such as an East Hampton Library book drop in Springs, and a book order and delivery service, but that none of those ideas had ever worked out. She said that Springs residents have been concerned with a lack of resources because the community’s own library is inadequate and many residents don’t want to drive all the way to East Hampton Village.

“Especially in the summer months,” said Reg Cornelia, a member of the CAC. “We’re looking for any way to save us that trip, some way to get people and kids the books they want in Springs.”

Ideally, Mr. Cornelia said, Springs could have its own library branch with its own building, staff and resources. It’s an idea that has been thrown around for many years, Mr. Fabiszak said, most recently at the library’s hearing before the ZBA, where some people have suggested that the library build its proposed new children’s wing in Springs, which would open up more space in the East Hampton location and reduce the need for a 6,802-square-foot expansion.

That idea has been rejected by the library board and its attorney, primarily because of the cost, said Mr. Fabiszak.

“It was suggested that we look at moving the children’s library instead of expanding the children’s room in this building,” he said of the library’s expansion plans. “We don’t think that is the best way to solve the issue we have right now where the children’s collection is too small.”

Mr. Fabiszak said to open a separate library would require renting or buying a new building, staffing it with professional librarians, paying operating costs, and registering it with the Suffolk County system of libraries, which also incurs a cost. “When we looked at this four years ago, the cost of a separate library would be a 314-percent tax increase,” he said. Mr. Fabiszak agreed to be part of a committee of Springs CAC members that would identify potential locations for an annex in Springs, and Mr. Fabiszak said he would be willing to reevaluate the cost.

Ms. Conner said the renewed interest in expanding library services in Springs stems from the East Hampton Town Comprehensive Plan, which cited Springs as lacking in cultural institutions and programming. She said the first step would be to get more resources to the people of Springs, including updated technology in the Springs Library, a book drop and delivery system, and more library programming in Springs—all things Mr. Fabiszak said he could consider. He also said wireless internet at the Springs Library could be immediately available.

The library’s proposed expansion remains in question after the November 13 public hearing, as members of the ZBA will evaluate new parking plans submitted by the library board. Bill Esseks, the library’s attorney, presented three new parking plans as requested by the ZBA at the close of its previous meeting based on updated traffic engineering standards. The library’s engineer had used standards created in 1993.

In addition to the updated parking plans the ZBA requested, Mr. Esseks presented a “compromise” plan that called for a total of 44 spaces with 18-foot aisles and parking at 60-degree angles, which allows for maneuvering in smaller aisles.

The ZBA decided to keep the hearing open so it would have the opportunity to present the plans to the village engineer and allow the public to view them at Village Hall or on the library’s website.