Important Notice Regarding
Greenwood Lake Village/Library Construction
As has been noted on our web site, in our newsletter and flyers in the Library, construction has been going on in the municipal parking lot, on Waterstone Road and in the front entrance area of the Library.
WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR MAIN FRONT ENTRANCE HAS RE-OPENED. There is still no parking available in front of the Library or in the municipal parking lot. The Village continues to offer free parking in the municipal lot by Village Hall and Helen Kelly field.
TEMPORARY ENTRANCE THROUGH OUR SIDE YARD IS NOW CLOSED BECAUSE CONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN IN THAT AREA. WE WILL KEEP THE TEMPORARY ENTRANCE VIA JERSEY AVENUE OPEN THROUGH SUNDAY, 5/13/12. THIS TEMPORARY ENTRANCE WILL CLOSE AS OF MONDAY, 5/14/12.
Please, we are concerned for everyone's safety, do not try to enter the construction zone or climb fences.
We thank you and continiue to ask for your patience as this construction project nears completion. If you have any questions, please visit or call Joan Carvajal, Library Director at Ext. 103 or Sandy Newman, Assistant Treasurer at Ext. 102.
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Budget News
The annual budget vote will be held on Thursday, May 17th, 2012, from 2-8 p.m. at the Library. Please note the pertinent budgetary information with regards to our July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013 Library budget:
- All residents of the Greenwood Lake Union Free School District are eligible to vote; our vote is NOT restricted to Village residents.
- The Library budget vote is separate from the school budget vote and is held at the Library.
- Your Library tax appears as a separate line item on your school tax bill.
- The Library’s fiscal year runs from July through June.
- If you have any questions, please call or visit Sandy Newman, Assistant Treasurer at Ext. 102 or Joan Carvajal, Library Director at Ext. 103.
A Letter from our Treasurer with the Proposed Budgets Details
(This has also appeared in the newspaper.)
April 27, 2012
Cutting libraries during a recession is like cutting hospitals during a plague. (Eleanor Crumblehulme)
Dear Patrons,
While New York State has restored 3.3% of the aid to libraries that has been consistently reduced since 2008, total aid will remain 18.45% below Education Law formulas. Still, any gain is a victory, especially when you can couple it with new MTA Payroll tax exclusion, which ends this tax for all but the largest libraries and library systems. The more revenue that flows back from the State, the more we can offer our patrons in these tough economic times. The American Library Association and New York Library Association continue to lobby for restoration of Library aid in an effort to insure the survival of the “hometown library” as a community focal point and resource.
Our annual, independent audit findings gave us a clean bill of health, despite the fact that New York State has capped our tax levy at a 2% increase, while allowing health insurance carriers and utilities anywhere from a 6.5% to 11.9% rate increase. Still, we were able to absorb escalating costs, reduce some of the balance formerly appropriated to stabilize the tax rate, and stay within the state’s mandate. This will be the first time in three years that we are proposing to increase the tax rate, requesting approval for an additional 13 cents/thousand, or $5.20/year for the average household.
Our proposed 2012-2013 operating budget is $709,920, a reduction of $5,011 over last year due to the fact that last fiscal year carried 27, rather than the standard 26 pay periods (something that occurs every 8 years or so). There is a projected savings in library materials of $8,000 with the shift from print to E-materials, an increase in building maintenance of $1,350 as the “new” building is not so “new” anymore, an additional $2,500 in professional fees for increases in technical and auditing services, and a reduction of $861 in personnel as one part time staff member retired and their duties were absorbed by the full time staff.
We have partnered with the Village of Greenwood Lake in a Green Innovation Grant Project which is designed to solve the issues of flooding and icing at both our front and program room entrances, help increase traffic safety on Waterstone for both the Library and the Elementary School, enhance pedestrian access to both facilities, and create a storm water management system that is more environmentally friendly for this entire end of Waterstone Road. Work on the library’s property constitutes 28% of the overall project, for which our portion of the matching funds is projected at less than $20,000. This will be expended solely from savings and will have no impact on our taxpayers; we are not bonding funds, increasing taxes or adding budget line items due to this project.
If you want the latest on what your “hometown library” has to offer, just check our website at gwllibrary.org, read our latest quarterly newsletter (delivered to your home Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall) or – better yet – stop in and see for yourself. Books, magazines, movies, music and puzzles to borrow, computers and laptops to use, downloadable books, on-line test preparation, databases on genealogy, medical information or general research, and a knowledgeable staff to help you access it all. Programs run the gamut from story time for kids, to cooking or gardening or crafts for adults, to Music Makers for the whole family. Enjoy our Works of Art Gallery, Collectible Series and Local History exhibits. Take your kids to a museum for the day with our family passes, come to Gaming Night, our Book Lovers’ Club or Indie Film Night. Sign up for a computer course, a Defensive Driving course (to save on your auto insurance), a painting or writing workshop, OR, if you feel less ambitious, simply join us for a cup of coffee and the morning paper. This is your Library.…your door to a world tailored to the needs of this community…your opportunity to indulge in almost any pastime of your choosing.
Our Annual Meeting and budget vote will be held on Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 2-8 PM in the Library. You can review the budget and pose your questions at the budget hearing on Friday, May 4th from 1-3 PM. We encourage all registered voters in the Greenwood Lake School District, not just the Village of Greenwood Lake, to come out and vote. But, more importantly, we encourage you all to use your library! The continued support and good will of our patrons makes it an honor to serve our community.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Fraser
Treasurer
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Board of Trustees Meeting
The Library Board of Trustees will hold a regular business meeting on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 7:30 pm in the library. The public is welcome to attend.
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Launch Instructions for OneClickdigital
Our OneClickdigital account is now activated! Please click here or on the button to the left and you'll be directed to the Library’s customized OneClickdigital website. After a quick one-time account set-up process, you will be able to checkout and download audiobooks.
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A Special Request for our Local History Collections We would be most grateful to anyone willing to donate, or loan for copying, yearbooks from the Greenwood Lake Elementary and Middle Schools as well as the High Schools from the years that Greenwood Lake students were in Warwick, Monroe or Tuxedo . The Library also needs donations, or loans for copying, of the Greenwood Lake News PRIOR to 1984 as well as the period of JULY-DECEMBER 1989. Lastly, if you should have any copies of the Greenwood Lake Newsletter or the Greenwood Lake Buzzer (which existed before the Greenwood Lake & West Milford News) that you would be willing to donate or loan for copying, the Library would be most appreciative. These items will be added to our Local History Reference collection for everyone to share. We will acknowledge your generosity to the community in “Our Special Thanks” column of our newsletter unless, of course, you prefer to remain anonymous. If you are interested in donating or loaning any of this material, please call Elizabeth Cisek, Reference Supervisor, at Ext. 105 or Joan Carvajal, Library Director, at Ext. 103.
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Family Museum Passes Don’t forget to take advantage of the passes the Library offers to various museums – the Museum of Natural History, the Harness Racing Museum, the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, the Paley Center for Media, the Museum at Bethel Woods, and the NYC Fire Museum. All passes guarantee free general admission (special programs and/or exhibits may require additional costs to you). Passes are available to resident library cardholders ONLY for a 3-day period; the fine is $10.00 per day if returned late to ensure that other patrons are not left waiting for their opportunity to use the passes. The passes cannot be put on hold and patrons must come to the Library to see if they are available to be checked out. For complete details/rules, please contact Jill Cronin at Ext. 109 or 110.
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