Pine Plains dedicates library in style

PINE PLAINS — Although it’s been open to the public for nearly a year, unlocking its main doors with a soft opening in June 2009, local residents gathered in the Sweeney Community Room of the new Pine Plains Community Center and Library last weekend to officially dedicate the building.

As town Supervisor Gregg Pulver remembered, the first seeds were planted for the project a dozen years ago, when a group of residents met informally at the Stissing House to discuss the possibility of an “investment� for the future of the community.

The library, which was previously located near the main intersection in town, seemed the perfect community building to renovate, and none too soon according to Pulver, who jokingly reminded Librarian Marguerite Hill of the falling ceiling tiles and small space she once had to deal with.

Narrowed down from more than 15 possible properties, the former Odd Fellows Lodge site on South Main Street was eventually donated to the town. A not-for-profit organization, The Foundation for the Pine Plains Community Center and Library, Inc., was established to plan, fundraise and oversee construction.

A wealth of people were thanked for their help in the project, and a complete list would be difficult to reproduce here without leaving someone out, but Pulver specifically mentioned the efforts of the foundation’s president, John Hoffman, as well as Dominick Calabro, who chaired the fundraising campaign.

“We’ve created something I think we can all be proud of,� Pulver said.

Charles Napoli, the foundation’s treasurer, thanked Pulver and the rest of the Pine Plains Town Board “for all their enthusiasm and help.�

It wouldn’t have been a proper dedication without the presence of two area politicians who have watched the project move from dream to reality, and state Assemblyman Marc Molinaro and state Sen. Vincent Leibell were on hand to give the new building their blessings.

“I can’t think of a prettier town in the United States of America than this town,� Leibell said, “and it’s so great to see this beautiful library finished.�

“Seeing this project come to fruition is really remarkable,� Molinaro added. Libraries are the center of many communities, he said, and with many areas across the state and county finding themselves “stretched, pushed and pressed� to find funding to keep their libraries running, the assemblyman said he stood “in awe and inspiration to see this building completed.�

The architects for the building were Liscum McCormack VanVoorhis LLP of Poughkeepsie. Kirchhoff Construction Management of Pleasant Valley was the contracting company.

The new building has given the library and the community an enormous amount of new space to work with. Public computers have increased from six to 10, and Hill mentioned that the library’s square footage has tripled, at least.

Upstairs, in the Sweeney Community Room, more space is available for many local community groups, including The Heart of Pine Plains (HOPP), Community Action, the Dutchess County Office of the Aging’s senior exercise program, local government, a book discussion group and a crocheting group. Twice a month senior game nights are held.

The dedication was held last Saturday, May 15, at 2 p.m. Refreshments and light food were provided for the 75 or so in attendance.

While the library has had a long time to settle into its new home, the metamorphosis is still fresh on many residents’ minds. Library board member Betty Chestney pointed out at the dedication that downstairs at the main desk of the library there is a photo album and a digital picture frame illustrating pictures from before, during and after the move. They will be left up as a reminder of what the community library once was and what it will continue to be well into the future.

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