AMENIA— When voters in the town of Amenia head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 2, the Amenia Free Library Board of Trustees will be holding its breath, as its members hope those voters will flip the metaphorical lever for Proposition No. 7.
Although electronic ballots no longer call for flipping levers when voting these days, the sentiment is just the same — the library is depending on the proposition passing, as it will mean the town will increase vital funding to support the library’s operation and maintenance.
“We’re asking for an increase from $125,000 to $175,000, an increase of $50,000, the first time we’ve asked for an increase in three years,” explained President of the Board of Trustees Alan Gamble. “That’s pretty much the way we approach it because we have to go through the petition process to be on the ballot, and we don’t want to go through that every year.”
That’s why the library projects what it will need to spend for the next three years to serve its nearly 1,000 patrons. This year, and for the past few years, however, it’s spent a tad more than usual — in the neighborhood of $1.18 million — thanks to its library renovation project that was roughly 27 years in the planning.
As Gamble explained in a letter to the editor that ran in the Oct. 14 edition of this newspaper, “The increase requested in Proposition No. 7… would result in a tax increase of $14.48 for an average residence assessed for $250,000 in Amenia… that’s just $1.21 per month for expanded library services, which our community deserves.”
New library addition
The library expansion cost includes $900,000 for the construction itself and more than $100,000 for the engineering and architectural costs. Then there are the costs for furnishings and other finishing touches.
Amazingly in the day of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting construction delays and material increases, Gamble said there were few cost hikes, though there were a few hold ups in the project time line.
“We had change orders in the $47,000 range, an increase,” he said, for all the water that was found that had to be remediated. “The water table in Amenia is so high we had to put in some extra stone for drainage… The other thing that happened, when we did excavation for the parking lot that used to be the Amenia Theater, when it was torn down after a fire in 1974, they basically buried everything, so we found some chunks of concrete in excess of 10,000 pounds, which meant bringing in an excavator to remove it. It’s something you just don’t see going in to it.”
But Ducillo Construction kept the costs low and didn’t pass the unexpected expenses onto the library, said a thankful Gamble.
A little history
The old library was built in 1938 under the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project to help put people back to work during the Great Depression.
Gamble said it is unique in that it’s the same design as “probably eight or 10 libraries that look just the same in the state. So that’s kind of a unique feature… [but] our library is unique in the fact that it’s still operating and now under construction.”
The old section was a mere 880-square feet, measuring 40-feet by 22-feet. The new addition is 3,200-plus-square feet — nearly four times the size.
Gamble tried to describe what the library will look like when patrons walk in the door once the renovations are complete. He said it will be modern looking, upon recommendation from the state historic preservation office, which gave a coveted $445,000 grant for the renovation.
“They want the old building to stand out,” he said. “If anybody asks why the new library looks modern and not like the old library, there was a $445,000 reason.”
Project details
Gamble said after walking through the vestibule, that the circulation desk is in front to the right, and immediately to the left is the children’s area. He said everything is defined “with colorful touches,” adding the new library is ADA compliant, will have “state of the art fire and security systems,” there will be “a modest increase in the number of volumes” and continued access to the Mid-Hudson Library System’s 2.5 million volumes, from which the library will now get deliveries three times weekly.
Town Supervisor Victoria Perotti said she is relishing the day the project is completed.
“The Amenia Free Library is the heart and soul of the town,” she said. “It not only provides books and education, computers and computer education, it provides multiple programs for children to instill in them a love of books and a love of reading, which I think is so important.”
Perotti added the library started to fundraise in 1994 in order to afford the expansion, rather than ever request funds from the town.
“The library has worked very hard to get donations to do the renovation without having to ask the taxpayers for anything,” she said, “and that far outweighs the amount they are asking for in the proposition.”
The Library Board of Trustees made a point to hire local laborers to do the work, whenever possible, including: architect Darlene Riemer of Amenia: Ducillo Construction of Amenia; Rennia Engineering Design of Dover; Electrician Jesse Loucks of Sharon, Conn.; O’Neil Plumbing of Wingdale; Excavator Tom Henessy of Clinton Corners; Cabinets by Kevin Dunlop and Marty Miller of Amenia; and Twin Brooks Gardens of Staatsburg did the to landscaping.
Library patrons and Amenia voters are invited to preview the newly expanded library on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Board of Trustees and Library Director Victoria Herow will on hand to provide tours and answer any questions visitors may have.
“It is going to be quite a celebration for the library and our community, to see our new and updated library, and what we can do and offer in the future,” said Herow, hoping residents will attend the open house. “Once the construction is finished, I’m very excited to be able to host programming on-site and have ample room for our patrons.”
This article has been updated to note that the construction project and proposition on the Nov. 2 ballot would cost $1.18 million and not $1.8 million. We regret the error.
Michel Negreponte
‘Herd,” a film by Michel Negreponte, will be screening at The Norfolk Library on Saturday April 13 at 5:30 p.m. This mesmerizing documentary investigates the relationship between humans and other sentient beings by following a herd of shaggy Belted Galloway cattle through a little more than a year of their lives.
Negreponte and his wife have had a second home just outside of Livingston Manor, in the southwest corner of the Catskills, for many years. Like many during the pandemic, they moved up north for what they thought would be a few weeks, and now seldom return to their city dwelling. Adjacent to their property is a privately owned farm and when a herd of Belted Galloways arrived, Negreponte realized the subject of his new film.
“You know, I’ve never made a nature documentary,” Negreponte shared. “That’s not really my thing, but once I found myself in upstate New York during the pandemic, I made several short films about the environment, about the land around me. They were mini essays, meditations. One of them was about my dog. That kind of led me into this longer project, which I also call an essay film. I’d like to say it’s a personal essay film, and a meditation.”
Early in the film, with the background of a heartbeat as soundtrack, a quote comes across the screen explaining, “Cows are adagio. 65 to 75 beats per minute.” This deliberate slowing down of pace lends a quiet to the narrative and allows for profound reflections on themes of motherhood, community, and humanity’s place in the natural world. “I think that the subject matter and the cows asked for a particularly delicate and peaceful approach. That is their temperament and their pace, and I certainly appreciate the vibe they give out,” Negreponte added.
Filmed throughout 2022, the film is chronological, following the herd through an erratic winter and the seasons of birth and death.
“It’s a very organic process,” said Negreponte of his technique of editing while filming. “It’s a process that I’ve developed over many years of making films and it suits the way I work.”
Using one camera, long shots linger on the lumbering giants as they navigate harsh weather, calve their young, protect, fight, and play with one another. Negreponte filmed parts of his own body in moments, “breaking the fourth wall,” as he explained, a technique that adds to the intimacy.
Throughout the film, there are other clips interspersed that Negreponte calls, “archival sections,” though not all the footage is historical. There are images of Hitler juxtaposed with images of Ghandi. The hunting and eventual extinction of wild Buffalo in the American West, and images showing reverence for cows in ancient cultures. From the horrors of industrial farming and animal exploitation to the clear communication and collective consciousness present, “Herd” confronts the viewer with humanity’s capacity for both cruelty and compassion.
By inviting audiences to slow down and reconnect with the natural world, “Herd” serves as a timely reminder of the interconnectedness of all living beings.
Negreponte shared, “I can’t help but think that people may think twice about their eating habits. I certainly think we can do better and adjust our diets so we’re less cruel to the animals around us.”
The owners of the farm have decided that the cattle are now pets, due in large part to the effect that “Herd” has had on them. The cows will now be used primarily to fertilize the fields.
Submitted
Diego Ongaro
Parisian filmmaker Diego Ongaro, who has been living in Norfolk for the past 20 years, has composed a collection of films for viewing based on his unique taste.
The series, titled “Visions of Europe,” began over the winter at the Norfolk Library with a focus on under-the-radar contemporary films with unique voices, highlighting the creative richness and vitality of the European film landscape.
Ongaro has made two films himself. His second feature film “Down with the King” tells the story of a rapper who has come to recoup from career challenges on a farm in the Berkshires. Filmed on location in southwestern Massachusetts, it’s a beautiful movie with bucolic landscapes and moving performances by lead actor Freddie Gibbs.
The film premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival (ACID section), won the top prize at the Deauville Film Festival, was released worldwide by Sony Pictures in 2022, and is currently available for viewing on Netflix. Prior to that, Ongaro’s first feature film "Bob and the Trees" had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Ongaro directed more than a hundred children’s programs for French Television in his early 20s and wrote and directed four acclaimed short films.
When asked how the idea for the series came about, Ongaro said, “Last year at the Norfolk Library I did a film series on the Berlin School, and the year before that it was on the French New Wave. I wanted to continue this cycle and offer a window on the cinema that I like.”
“Growing up in Paris, I’ve always had a diverse taste in cinema, watching American and French films, but also films from all over the world that allowed me to travel to places I’ll most likely never see. It was refreshing to see these stories anchored in different cultures. Now that I’ve been living away from native France for about 20 years, I gravitate mostly towards European cinema, probably seeking a culture and sensibility that I miss. A lot of these European films are incredible, offering complex characters and stories, unlike most of the American fare nowadays,” he adds.
The next and last installment happens Friday, April 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and features “Swagger” by Olivier Babinet.
So how did Ongaro curate the films for this series?
“I like to share films that reflect my sensibility as a filmmaker and that most people haven’t seen. I’ve traveled to a lot of film festivals over the years where I got to see many films. I try to find themes within the films that have stuck with me. I like to think of it as a cine club. This year, the three films are all very different from each other, but each have a unique voice and form: a nuanced drama on the Baltic Sea titled ‘Afire’ by Christian Petzold, a hilarious nonsensical comedy called ‘Keep An Eye Out’ by Quentin Dupieux, and a gripping and wonderfully original documentary on teenagers going to school in a difficult projects in France called ‘Swagger’ by Olivier Babinet,” he said.
There were many films that didn’t make the cut due to time constraints, but Ongaro also recommends, “Reality” and “Yannick” by Quentin Dupieux as well as “Jericho,” “Barbara,” “Undine by Christian Petzold.”
As to what the audience can expect from the evening, Ongaro says, “It’s a casual affair. I give an introduction to the film with some backstory and context, talk about the filmmaker, the actors, and then we watch the film. We don’t do question and answer after, we don’t really have time for that, but people linger and talk about what they have just watched. People come to me with questions or to hear my take on an ending, a character. It’s fun to see how engaged people are after each screening.”
Screenings are free. Register on www.norfolklibrary.org.
Young native pachysandra from Lindera Nursery shows a variety of color and delicate flowers.
It is still too early to sow seeds outside, except for peas, both the edible and floral kind. I have transplanted a few shrubs and a dogwood tree that was root pruned in the fall. I have also moved a few hellebores that seeded in the near woods back into their garden beds near the house; they seem not to mind the few frosty mornings we have recently had. In years past I would have been cleaning up the plant beds but I now know better and will wait at least six weeks more. I have instead found the most perfect time-consuming activity for early spring: teasing out Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle and myrtle, from the ground in places it was never meant to be.
Planting the stuff in the first place is my biggest ever garden regret. It was recommended to me as a groundcover that would hold together a hillside, bare after a removal of invasive plants save for a dozen or so trees. And here we are, twelve years later; there is vinca everywhere. It blankets the hillside and has crept over the top into the woods. It has made its way left and right. I am convinced that vinca is the plastic of the plant world. The stuff won’t die. (The name Vinca comes from the Latin ‘vincire’ which means ‘to bind or fetter.’) Last year I pulled a bunch and left it strewn on the roof of the root cellar for 6 months and the leaves were still green.
Disposal is by bonfire, the least desirable method, but in this case the only way of ensuring it does not return.
2024 will be the year I begin to take it out, with sporadic help from hired hands. While they tackle larger areas of the offending plant, I have started from the fringes of the woodland interior and am working outward. Frankly it is not as boring from here as the vinca is less packed into the soil. It is an oddly satisfying task; this has to do with the vine-like nature of the plant. There is a knobby bit tethered to the soil by its roots; once this is lifted up (I use fingers but Norm, who is working in denser beds of the stuff, uses a hori knife) the vine runs to its next root knob about a foot or two away. It feels as if you have progressed quite a bit for one big tug. The same technique can be used on Glechoma, or ground ivy, although the vines are far thinner than those of vinca. I should be working on this well into the next decade.
While nurseries and garden centers continue to push vinca, there are native groundcovers that look great and can help to restore native habitats. Michele Palustra runs Lindera, a small outfit in Sharon that prioritizes local ecotypes of natives, meaning that she collects the seed herself from surrounding property, ensuring that the plants growing from them will serve local insects well. Spreading Jacob’s Ladder, Polemonium reptans, works in moderately shady circumstances, with its dense and deep green set of leaves and a truly beautiful pale purple or white flower. This plant comes to New England from south and west of the US but is hardy to zone 5. One of Michele’s favorites is native Allegheny pachysandra, Pachysandra procumbens.
Unlike the ever-present non-native Japanese pachysandra terminalis which is dying off thanks to Volutella blight, native pachysandra has a more delicate leaf and a showier flower. It is slower to spread than is the Japanese version but the use case is similar; as an underplanting around tree bases and to fill in around plantings in garden beds. I have recommended tiarella cordifolia as a pachysandra replacement for these purposes and suggest pairing either with a native fern such lady fern or maidenhair fern. Native ginger, asarum canadense, and the 200 or so native species of viola, or violet, work beautifully for groundcover; the former is excellent on hillsides where you can better see the shy burgundy colored flower, the latter spreads quickly which is a bonus and all sorts of insects feed on its flowers. Try to get the straight species of these native plants rather than a cultivar of them which may not benefit the habitat as well (this fascinating topic will be covered in the next installment of The Ungardener.)
I have purchased 50 plugs of Pennsylvania sedge, Carex pensylvanica, from the online consolidator Izel Native Plants to plant under cherry trees that have resisted any past attempts to have a downstairs neighbor. I also want to explore ways to encourage the growth of native moss which also makes an excellent groundcover.
Lindera, along with Tiny Meadow Farm, are having a pop-up spring sale in Sharon that I encourage you to visit. They will be selling truly gorgeous native plants including groundcovers.
This will take place Sunday, April 28 from 10-6 at Lindera Nursery, 60 Knibloe Hill Road in Sharon. www.tinymeadowfarm.com/events/spring-sharon-plant-sale.
Dee Salomon "ungardens" in Litchfield County.
