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Blair Bennett From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Tom [tdillard(~ncsl.dcr. state.nc, us] Thursday, June 01, 2000 10:39 AM Frank W. Clifton Blair Bennett Update on Harrisburg Library project On May 31, 2000, Benita Conrad, President of the Harrisburg Friends of the Library,provided the following information regarding the Harrisburg Library project: The Town has decided to begin construction this month. As of May 31, 2000 the town has not Ix)mowed or secured any additional funds beyond the $800,000 available. If additional funds were not donated, Mrs. Conrad indicated that the Town would secure the balance r, cc~Jed. The Town hired the Harrisburg based general contracting firm Welliver- McGuire, Inc. to act as the town's agent in coordinating construction of the Library. Welliver-McGuire will handle all contractor bids and is responsible for completing the construction phase of the project. Mrs. Conrad says that WellNer- McGuire was to open contractor bids today. Some work has been done at the site, including installation of curbs and gutters. Mrs. Conrad said that Welliver-McGuire proposed to have the building finished in October or in five months. She was not sure if this means dried in with rough wiring and plumbing done or actually completed. Even with ideal conditions, this would seem to me to be an optimistic timetable. Completion is also contingent on the Tow~ of Harrisburg providing the balance of the cost. There are several concerns for us. If the commissioners approve the pmpesal to furnish the library, it is unlikely that shelving could be available until November, 2000 at the eadiest if order by the end of July, 2000. institutional furniture should be available earlier. Bidding timetable for shelving and fumiture is also a factor. Realistically, it is possible that the building could be furnished completely by the end of 2000. Opening Day Collection or $150,000 of books and other library materials. The plan is to contract with a major media vendor to provide most of the selected materials in a 'shelf-ready" condition, that is already cataloged, bar-coded, striped and with plastic covers if necessary. These material arrive in a single shipment, we load the record of each into our automated catalog and shelve each item. While we rely on standard tools to select a cure collection, the process of selection is time consuming. Six months is a minimum window to get this done. We designed a staff procurement timeline that brings the branch manager aboard three to four months prior to opening and remaining staff on board incrementally subsequent to the hiring of the branch manager. A two to three month window for job listing, interviewing and hiring of the branch manager is necessary. Other positions would be listed at the same time as that of the Ixanch manager position so a pool of applicants would be available when the branch manager comes on board. I also hope that a couple of our current library staff may seek to transfer to the Harrisburg Library. The Harrisburg operating budget is a six month budget....January to June, 2001. W'rthout additional appropriations, the opening of the Ubrary for operations...if the building is ready...prior to January, 2000 seems unlikely. Overall, the picture is somewhat clearer but still remains uncertain as to when the building will actually be available for occupancy..