BUCKFIELD — The area surrounding the Zadoc Long Free Library will get a face-lift come spring.
On Tuesday evening, selectmen unanimously supported the Library Committee’s rehabilitation project for the stairs and grounds of the library at 5 Turner St.
Town Manager Cindy Dunn told selectmen she and members of the Library Committee have been brainstorming ideas over the past couple months for the project.
Voters at town meeting in June approved the library becoming a full-fledged town department, accepting all of the library’s assets and dissolving the library trustees and replacing them with a committee. At the committee’s meeting Thursday, Oct. 29, members decided what work should be done.
Proposed improvements include covering the first set of stairs at the front of the building, replacing two cement block columns on the second landing with wrought-iron railings along each side of the stairway. Plans also include removing the railing down the middle of the stairs, repairing the stairs where needed and surfacing them with a nonskid coating.
As for parking, the plan is to excavate and create three additional parking spaces on the Loring Hill Road side of the building, along with excavating and creating two walkways, one leading from the parking spaces to the front of the building and the other from the parking spaces to the side entrance. Other components include removing the large shrub on the left side of the building and replacing the Zadoc Long Free Library sign on the front of the building.
“I think it just opens up the face of that building, too,” Dunn said about removing the shrub. “Aesthetically, I think it looks much better.”
The Board of Selectmen approved Dunn soliciting requests for proposals in February 2016, with work beginning in the spring. The project’s budget is $7,500. She noted some of the work, such as seeding the lawn and applying the nonskid surface, can be done by her and volunteers.
In other library news, Dunn announced committee member Jenifer Adams is resigning. Selectmen unanimously accepted her resignation with regret.
In other news, Dunn extended the deadline for the surveys that were sent out with tax bills to Sunday, Nov. 15. The survey asks questions about town meeting, Community Day and how each of the town department are doing.
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