This week in Shelter Island history: Fundraising efforts to build library
50 Years Ago
Lions ready drive to build new library
The local Lions Club concluded discussions with officials at the Shelter Island Public Library to launch a fundraising campaign to build a new library.
The estimated cost of construction, furnishings and equipment was $70,000 and the site selected was where today’s library stands on Route 114 at Bateman Road.
In addition to the main library room, plans called for a children’s room, music room with high fidelity equipment and a combination meeting room and lounge with a wood-burning fireplace. About $12,000 of the money expected to be raised at the time was earmarked for furnishings and additional books.
Postscript: The library is in the midst of an expansion that is targeted to cost under $800,000. The new construction will provide a separate entrance to a downstairs program room, book sale room, gallery, movable bookshelves, storage space and restrooms. A new elevator has also been installed for users who have difficulty with stairs.
10 Years Ago
New mooring grids delayed
A long-planned effort to establish a grid system for mooring in West Neck Creek and bay was postponed until the following fall.
Despite efforts to have the system operational by spring, Town Board and Waterways Management Advisory Committee members agreed that progress had been too slow to get a viable system in place by spring. For months, the town had been aiming to establish new grid systems off Simpson Road as a test before converting all the mooring fields in the West Neck waterway. There are five total.
Postscript: Where there are grids, applicants don’t have to submit to a public hearing for moorings. They simply apply for them at the town clerk’s office. The Waterways Management Advisory Committee is considering the possibility of creating other grids in mooring fields, including the stone-walled area at the Causeway, Councilman Peter Reich said.
20 Years Ago
District eyes budget cuts
Residents expressed extreme dismay at a school district budget that was projected to be more than $4 million for the 1992-93 school year.
In a heated session that lasted close to five hours, they demanded more cuts, complaining that if taxes continued to rise, people would be forced to leave the Island. At the same time, they worried they would have difficulty selling their properties because of high taxes.
Postscript: This year, four budget hearings have lasted about 20 minutes each and the Board of Education expects to put forth a proposal for 2012-13 that would come in just under the state-mandated 2 percent tax levy increase.
