Library says farewell to building debt
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - Paid in full.Those are the three little words that have the York Public Library's staff, patrons and trustees smiling a bit more these days.
At their annual meeting on Thursday, July 13, the York Public Library Board of Trustees announced that, with the success of private fundraising efforts and individual donations, the $800,000 loan taken to fund the balance of its original building debt has been paid off.
"We're really excited," said York Public Library Director Robert Waldman on Monday, after receiving the paperwork from Kennebunk Savings Bank acknowledging the commercial loan of credit had been paid in full. "We worked so hard to get the support, so the garnering of that support and being able to provide the services as a result of that … has just been very, very gratifying."
The final payment on the building loan was made to Kennebunk Savings Bank on June 30, the York Public Library Board of Trustees acknowledged in a formal statement last week, noting that date marked the final day of the library's 2005 fiscal year.
"This is a huge accomplishment especially since all of the funds we needed to pay off our loan had to be raised privately through donations and fundraisers," said Trustees President Jim Carter in the library's announcement of the achievement. "It's time to celebrate. And to thank a lot of generous, caring people."
The York Public Library Association now owns the building, free and clear, Carter pointed out, and the focus can now be on building the endowment to fund capital improvements and repairs to the building in the decades ahead.
The library's Long Sands Road facility opened in 2001 at a cost $5.3 million to build and furnish.
Of that sum, the voters approved $1.3 million from the town. An additional $3 million in donations and pledges was raised privately, leaving a balance of about $800,000.
"The trustees have been working non-stop for the last five years to reach this goal, but nobody really expected it to happen this quickly," Waldman said. "Many people have worked hard on this, and our donors have been extraordinarily generous."
Waldman said he had been amazed that the initial $3 million could be raised through private donations, and to see the balance of the loan paid off through donations and fundraising is wonderful news for the library and the community as a whole.
"They came through for us, and we're ahead of where we anticipated we'd be able to pay it off," he said.
The goal now, Waldman said, is to focus on extending the library's services - as has already been the case with increased hours as of July 1 thanks to an affirmative vote on the operating budget by local voters back in May - and looking toward creating a future maintenance fund "to ensure that the building is well-kept for the years to come."
York Public Library Fund Development Chair Nancy Gustad praised the support of the community in the effort.
"Businesses and individuals have supported our fundraisers - our annual golf tournament, the Holiday Stroll and the Food For Thought program, for example," she said. "And it has all come together, thus marking a momentous occasion for the town of York."
With the passage of the library's budget for the two past years, the library is now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday with significant increases in patrons, circulation, inter-library borrowing, computer usage, programs and program attendance as well as in the collection itself, according to the library's staff and trustees.
"It's just another example of our community working hard together," Waldman said of the recent good news in and around the library.
Membership in the York Public Library Association is open to anyone who is interested, and this year's membership drive will take place in the late summer and early fall.
For more, call the library at 363-2818.
