NSTAR to Donate Approx. $60K to New Library

Shortly after the new project is completed, NSTAR will donate nearly $60,000 to the Town of Westwood as part of a new construction program, town officials learned Monday.

"We have qualified in the amount of $58,980 in the form of a check to the town upon completion of the project and supplying [NSTAR] with all the data," Westwood Library Director Tom Viti explained during Monday night's Board of Selectmen meeting. 

The donation comes as an incentive for a program NSTAR has formed to help facilitate energy efficiency in new buildings. 

"If it meets their criteria, they are willing to provide an incentive payment," Viti said.

The payment will be granted upon completion of the project, after NSTAR has received all the statistics as to how the building, , will function on the level of energy efficiency. 

The news came Monday after Viti and Westwood Library Trustees Chair Dan Lehan gave an overview as to the project's process to the Selectmen, reflecting on where the town stood two years ago before the project was approved at Town Meeting 2010. 

"This project continues to be exhilarating for all of us," Lehan said.

The current library is with staff to begin moving books to the new building by early May. While the main branch will be closed during that transition, the will serve as the main building for library patrons, holding extended hours to carry the balance of users. At the moment, the Islington Branch is at about 20 percent of the library's circulation.

"That's an incredible number when you consider what a small portion of the budget this branch is utilizing," Lehan said Monday night. "It's amazing. We're happy that we have the Islington Branch."

Meanwhile, moving the books over to the new building will only represent a portion of the work staff will be conducting to set up for use. 

"By the time we move into the new library, we'll probably only be 25 percent finished transferring the collection to the RFID system," Viti said. 

About 100,000 items will be tagged as part of the Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) system, which is similar to using EZ Pass when passing through a highway toll booth and would allow staff to check in multiple items at one time, cutting the number nearly in half. The idea of the new system is to help staff prepare to deal with an expected 25 to 50-percent increase in usage by residents.

Meanwhile, Viti and Lehan also proposed a Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request to the Selectmen, which included the following figures:

• Salaries - $805,297
• Materials - $159,400
• Expenses - $57,600
• Utilities - $46,380
• Repairs/Maintenance - $14,000
• Other - $1,850

Viti also elaborated on a supplemental budget request, which is as follows:

• $18,500 for an extra, part-time staff member to work on the upper level adult floor during the evenings (the upper level is the same size in square footage as the current main branch, Viti said).
• $3,000 for materials.
• $7,500 for utilities.

In an additional update, TLT Construction's contract for Phase 2 of the project has been extended by 56 working days, a move that the Westwood Permanent Building Committee approved with the expectation of some damage from the Colburn School moving across the library site.

As such, once the new building's construction is complete and the current building has been demolished, TLT will leave the site while the Colburn School is moved to the site of the current building. TLT will then return to the site to complete work on the landscaping.